


If We Move Forward Together, No One Gets Left Behind

by GlowingArrowsInTheSky



Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Grouptale, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Drama, Family, Game Dialogue, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Narrator Chara, Nonverbal Frisk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-07-19 21:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 154,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7378552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingArrowsInTheSky/pseuds/GlowingArrowsInTheSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, what if the other fallen humans had never left Home?</p><p>Violence and Death warnings really only for way later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallen Down

Frisk had never taken warnings very seriously. They knew there must have been some truth in the legends of Mount Ebott, they'd even met a few people who claimed to have lost children who dared to climb it, but Frisk was confident enough in their own ability to survive that a little thing like disappearing forever from the surface didn't scare them.

That confidence is what landed them at the bottom of a ditch with a face full of golden flowers, with no conceivable way back to where they'd come from. Still, their morale wasn't yet shattered, and they had gotten to their feet and continued forward.

Flowey the Flower had almost done them in, but even then Frisk hadn't given up. They knew somehow they would make it out of there alive and they had been holding onto that feeling when she appeared.

Toriel the Caretaker of the Ruins, as she had introduced herself. A warmth emitted from her that made Frisk feel she truly cared for them even though they had only just met. Even when Toriel insisted on handholding Frisk through the puzzles in the Ruins, it hadn't bothered them. At least they were getting somewhere. 

But when Toriel left them alone in that long hallway and told them to wait, Frisk couldn't seem to sit still. After all, they were in the Underground. They were in a place they'd only ever heard of in stories. How could they be expected to stay in one place?

It had taken them all of two minutes after Toriel left to move on to the next room. They felt a little guilty when Toriel called on the cell phone she'd given them, but not bad enough to go back and wait.They had knocked over a bowl of Monster Candy, solved puzzles, befriended a ghost, and won over multiple monsters all in the span of the few rooms that made up the Ruins. 

Something else strange had happened to Frisk since falling down into the Ruins, too. It seemed that whenever they went up to examine something strange, or had to think too long about what to do next in a battle, a little voice at the periphery of their consciousness would pipe up and talk to them. Advice, descriptions, jokes...It all depended on what Frisk most needed to hear at the present moment. They couldn't quite figure what was going on with their newfound personal narrator, but it wasn't something that Frisk gave a particular care about. So long as the narrator was helping them out, they could stick around as long as they liked. 

Making their way through the Ruins had taken a toll on Frisk. HP wasn't something that the surface world had, but Frisk had quickly gotten the gist of it. If you lose all of your HP, you die. Pretty straightforward. Only there was a catch, and Frisk couldn't tell if it was just with them or it was a benefit everyone in the underground experienced; but whenever they did die - and Frisk found they reached that bridge far sooner than perhaps a less reckless child might have - a few moments later they were right back at where they'd last "saved" their progress. Their narrator had explained how that system worked, and Frisk just took it in stride. They didn't really understand, but didn't want to stop and listen to an explanation. 

Traveling through the Ruins, Frisk at last came to a peaceful clearing without switches or trapdoors to hinder their progress. There was a cute, tidy house in front of them, purple and perfect in all its solitude. The yard surrounding it was littered here and there with toys, or what Frisk assumed were toys; they all had a bit of a ramshackle appearance, as if someone had tried to combine odds and ends from several different toys just to make one. Red leaves were piled in corners and strung up like garlands on the walls, some were even fashioned into tiny little houses for a family of rocks nearby. In the center of the yard stood the old blackened husk of a tree, its bare branches reaching towards the earthen ceiling like spectral fingers. 

_Every time this old tree grows leaves, they fall right off._

Frisk wrinkled their nose at their narrator and blew a cluster of choppy bangs out of their eyes, circling once around the tree and pointing out several different spots where six bright red leaves grew out of the spindly branches.

_Okay, maybe not **every** time but-_

The narrator's childlike voice cut off as the sound of approaching footsteps rustled up from the house. Frisk turned their head towards the doorway and saw Toriel bustle out of the house looking mildly frazzled. 

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would," she was saying to herself, when she spotted Frisk by the old tree. She put her phone away and crossed to the small child.

"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?" Toriel asked, concern threading into her brow as she reached out a hand towards Frisk. "There, there, I will heal you."

Toriel patted Frisk's head and they instantly felt better; they smiled up at Toriel but she seemed bothered by something.

"I should not have left you alone for so long," Toriel apologized. "It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this." 

Frisk furrowed their brow up at their new friend and shook their head to show they didn't understand what she meant.

“Err..." Toriel blushed. "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one!”

Toriel turned around and headed back up the way she had come. Frisk followed, walking up to the tidy little house and through the front entrance after Toriel, not looking back.

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked Frisk as they stepped into the house. Frisk inhaled heavily, taking in a delectable aroma that almost smelled like candy but it was warm and had an earthy spice to it as well. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. We want you to have a nice time living here; so we'll hold off on snail pie for tonight.”

Frisk wrinkled their brow at the "we" in Toriel's sentences, and Toriel smiled at the confusion on their face and glanced in the direction of the other room. “Another surprise! Come, it is time you met the others.”

Taking Frisk’s hand, Toriel led them into the next room. As they drew closer to the doorway, Frisk could hear a cacophony of voices talking excitedly; each one trying to shout over the others in an attempt to be heard. Someone was rambling on and on about the underground's sewage system while an accompanying voice made horrible puns to go along with the explanation, only to break off laughing at their own jokes. Another set of voices were arguing loudly about what Frisk guessed were sleeping arrangements, since the two kept listing different kinds of beds at each other in such an aggressive manner Frisk almost had to laugh. There were two other voices, a bit more distant, that seemed to be having a conversation that revolved entirely around desserts from the surface; one voice was soft and quiet, the other boisterous and loud. Occasionally, someone would interject into a separate conversation and then all six voices would start talking and laughing about the same subject; but for the most part it was a mix of chaos. 

But as Toriel drew Frisk into the room, all of the voices quieted down. It started when one of the people in the room, an older kid with bright orange hair caught sight of Frisk midsentence; and promptly forewent their carefully constructed argument about the benefits of a firmer mattress and elbowed the tallest kid in the room to get their attention. Once the two obviously oldest kids had stopped talking, the other four younger children surrounding them looked up to see what had stopped the chatter. Six pairs of eyes spun around to stare at Frisk, a bit shocked at their sudden appearance in the doorway.

"Toriel..." a kid with big curly hair and a pair of bright red ballet slippers slung over their shoulder looked up to Toriel with an amused laugh. "What the heck?" 

"Children, meet Frisk. They fell down just today," Toriel beamed at the bewildered expressions in front of them. “These are the children who have fallen down here before you,” Toriel explained, turning to smile at Frisk now. “We all live here together. It gets a little crowded, but it is better than being alone.”

Frisk stared unsurely at the group of other kids, most of whom looked much older than them. But then the first kid who'd noticed them, the one with orange hair, stepped forward and approached Frisk with a warm smile on their freckled face. 

They were more mature than the other kids, bearing a distinguished air that told Frisk they were the eldest of the group. They proudly wore a long purple robe that was identical to Toriel’s, right down to the embroidered emblem across the chest. A plain, faded ribbon tied back their long hair from their face, and in the pocket of their robe Frisk could spy the plastic hilt of a toy knife poking out.

"Well, I guess now we know the reason for the rush job on the pie, huh?" they quirked an eyebrow up at Toriel, then knelt down so they were at Frisk's eye-level. "Hi, Frisk! I'm Robin. I was the first kid to come live in the Ruins about ten years ago. It's so nice to meet you." 

_Pfft! First!? Try again, buddy._

Frisk mentally shushed their narrator, smiling at Robin and taking their hand when it was offered. As Robin's warm fingers closed around Frisk's, Frisk felt immediately put at ease, maybe even more so than they had felt when Toriel had taken their hand earlier. Toriel was kind and trustworthy, but Frisk could tell there was something powerful about Toriel as well that seemed to be on the verge of burgeoning into something terrifying. A froggit they'd passed had mentioned all of the monsters in the Ruins being intimidated by Toriel, and that fact stuck in Frisk's brain like an old wad of chewed gum. But having Robin take their hand, Frisk felt none of that coming off of them. Not to say that there was a lack of power in Robin, but perhaps the presence of something more valuable in the way of helping others. 

If Robin was aware of the effect they had on others, they didn't let on; and led Frisk back to the other kids with a casual stride, setting their hands on Frisk's shoulders and positing them in front of their siblings. “Everyone, introduce yourselves to Frisk,” Robin said.

"WELL, _YEE **HAW**_!!!" An energetic voice boomed out before its owner was even visible, the words dripping with an undeniably fake Southern accent. There was some shifting around in the group of gathered humans, and then a young kid of about eleven burst through to the front of the crowd an beamed at Frisk like they were a shiny gift wrapped in extravagant paper. A cowboy hat woven from red straw perched on top of their head, barely keeping their massive amounts of wild brunette waves of hair at bay; and holstered at their thigh was an antique gun, rusted and broken but cool-looking nonetheless.

"Howdy there, partner! I'm Hop!" they thrust a hand out at Frisk, shaking the younger kid's arm emphatically once they had Frisk's hand in their grip. "I was the last to fall before you! It's been a couple of years, how are things on the surface?" 

Frisk shrugged in response, unable to wrestle a smile from their face in the presence of such a bright personality. 

“Yeah, that sounds about right!” Hop laughed, stepping back and waving a kid wearing a stained apron forward. "Twain, come and meet Frisk already!"

“I'm coming, Hop, jeez," the kid named Twain laughed, walking up to their younger sibling's side. "Hi, Frisk. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Twain, I fell about a year before Hop did." they clasped their dark brown hands around the handle of an old frying pan they were holding onto. "I helped bake the pie, I hope you like it."

Frisk smiled, liking Twain instantly.

“Uhm, they’d have to be out of their **mind** not to _love_ your cooking, Twain!” the tallest kid announced in a booming voice, walking forward and throwing an affectionate arm around Twain's shoulders. "I tell ya, Frisk, before Twain showed up I was ready to just about die from starvation. No offense, Mom."

"Alex, you are so full of crap," Robin rolled their eyes, but in a loving way. "Mom's a great cook. And I can make stuff too, y'know, I-" 

"Yeah, and I gotta say, you've almost killed me more times than I can count," Alex stood up, hands spread as they turned towards Robin. "Didn't anyone tell you that you're supposed to take the packaging off of pasta noodles before cooking them-" 

"That _never_ happened!" Robin's cheeks fumed. 

"Oh, yeah? Calling me a liar?" 

"Would you two cut it out?" the kid with the red ballet slippers slung over their shoulder stepped between their two older siblings. "Gonna annoy this kid out of the house and they haven't even been here an hour yet." 

Frisk laughed a little, gravitating towards this shorter kid as they turned a smile down at them. 

"I'm Bell, Frisk," they said, reaching between Alex and Robin to shake the younger kid's hand. "I fell down a couple years after Alex did due to poor dance moves. And this-" Bell reached a hand back and pulled forward the only other kid Frisk hadn't met yet. "-is Laurel. Just assume they're the smartest person in the room at all times, because it's usually accurate." 

The kid Bell had pulled forward looked more than a little embarrassed by Bell's complimenting them, although it was hard to tell what their facial expression was behind the huge round glasses they were; the lenses had been permanently clouded somehow, and Frisk could barely just make out the shape of Laurel's eyes behind them. 

"Hi, Frisk," Laurel smiled, pulling a worn notebook with a red cover out of their pocket. Flipping it open, Laurel set their pencil to a blank page and looked at Frisk with rapt attention. "So, how did you fall down?" 

"Laaaaaaaaureeeeeeeellll..." Alex whined, collapsing dramatically into a seat at the table. "That pie has been tantalizing me _forever_ and if I gotta wait for you to finish your third degree of poor Frisk here, I'm never gonna eat again-"  

"Oh, shush," Robin walked over and yanked the bandana wound around Alex's forehead down over their eyes and flicked their nose. "It'll be well worth the wait." 

“Hey!” Alex shouted as they pushed their bandana back up to hold their tangled mess of brown hair back, pressing gingerly at their nose where it had been flicked. “Bell, am I bleeding?”

Bell rolled their eyes as they sat down next to Alex. “I think you’ll live,” they scoffed, turning their attention to Laurel as they sat down across from them. Laurel tapped the side of their nose and Bell nodded in response.

" 'Am I bleeding?' That's rich, considering how you greeted me the first time we met," Robin said, pointing to a reddish-brown splotch on Alex's bandana. "I think there's still a stain from me having to use that thing to hold against the nosebleed you gave me." 

"To be fair, I did think you were gonna kill me," Alex said. 

"Just ignore those two, they're always fighting about something," Hop came up and slung an arm around Frisk's shoulders, guiding them to the table. "Twain, come sit down!" 

"In a second, Hop, I have to help with the pie," Twain called over their shoulder, heading into the kitchen with Toriel. 

"Alright, alright," Hop said, taking their hat off and fluffing their hair out from the impression the hat had left on it. “You don’t talk much do ya, partner?” Hop turned Frisk an easy smile. When Frisk shrugged and smiled in response, they let out a single laugh. “Well, that’s just fine. Between Alex and I you might not be able to get a word in sometimes even if you wanted to.”

Hop looked over their shoulder to make sure none of their siblings were listening in. Laurel was shoving their notebook in Bell’s face while Bell tapped their chin in thought at whatever was being shown to them. Alex had apparently challenged Robin to an arm wrestling match, and Robin was winning with ease. Turning back to Frisk, Hop leaned in as close as they could.

“I just wanted to say that I’m, uh, really glad you’re here,” Hop smiled. “Toriel’s been looking down the past couple days. Been spending a lot of time by those golden flowers...Robin says she gets like that every year around this time, but they won’t tell me why. Says Toriel should be the one to tell me.”

Frisk glanced over to the kitchen where Toriel was talking and laughing with Twain while they cut generous slices of steaming pie. Seeing how loving she was towards not only them but to all of these children, Frisk hated to think of Toriel as having to suffer.

“Anyways,” Hop continued, snapping Frisk back to attention. “I could tell she was excited, even when she was trying to keep your arrival a secret. So, uh, thanks for falling down, I guess? You're a cool dude, Frisk." 

Frisk smiled at Hop and the two broke apart just as Toriel and Twain came bustling in carrying plates of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. After that, the table dissolved into frivolous individual conversations that would sometimes come together all at once and then break back into their private sects, similar to how Frisk had found the little family when they'd first walked into their lives. Except now they were part of the conversation, adding what they could to the topics at hand without saying much at all; but even without words, the other kids never failed to include Frisk in their jokes and debates and memories. It was a kind of closeness Frisk had rarely experienced with other people, and it made them feel happier than they had in a long time. 

After the pie had been finished, Robin took Frisk by the hand and led them on a tour of the house. Robin walked around the house without looking where they were going; they knew every bump in the wall and every creak of the floorboards as if they were old friends. They fit so well into the atmosphere of the home, that Frisk could hardly imagine them having lived anywhere else. 

"Okay so, you've already seen the living room," Robin said, leading Frisk to the doorway in the back of the room. "This is the kitchen. Toriel mainly cooks with fire magic, but Twain likes to use the stove." 

Frisk crossed to the fridge. There were dozens of drawings and little poems all cluttered on the fridge door; some were old and yellowed while others were stiff with newness. Frisk tugged open the doors and peered inside the frosty expanse.

 _Whoah, check it out. For some reason, there's a brand-name chocolate bar laying on one of the shelves._ The narrator's voice mentioned in a tone too casual to be nonchalant, and Frisk had to laugh. So, their narrator was a chocolate-lover. Good to know. 

"Oh, I'm sorry but you can't eat that," Robin said when they noticed where Frisk's attention was diverted to. "Mom's been saving that for a long time; since before I came here," Robin said, shutting the fridge door. "Come on, I'll show you the bedrooms."

Robin swished out of the kitchen and Frisk followed them down the hallway. Stopping at the first door, Robin turned the knob and went inside. 

It was a small room, barely big enough for the three beds crammed in there. A small table was shoved into the corner where a single lamp gave off a soft light. There was a closet with one door open to reveal a plethora of striped clothing, a few toys littered here and there, and a book shelf. There was a cluster of frames on top of the shelf, each one holding different photos of the family members. Frisk looked at all of the memories captured in those still images and couldn't shake the feeling that they were intruding on this family's lives. 

"Alex, Twain, and I share this room," Robin spoke up, leaning in the doorway. "You can have my bed for tonight though, I'll share with Mom. Tomorrow we'll head out and find you a bed, okay?" 

Frisk nodded and followed Robin out to the next door. 

"This is Mom's room," Robin went inside. "She doesn't really mind when we come in, but we all like to give her some privacy."

Frisk nodded at the room before them. With an encouraging nudge forward from Robin, they headed over to the bookshelf and opened a random one about aquatic plant life. They peeked in the dresser drawer and found a bunch of socks, all neatly lined up and organized. There was a diary laying open on the desk, but Frisk elected not to peek inside. 

Robin and Frisk made their way to the final door at the end of the hallway. 

"This room was under renovations when I first came here," Robin said as they turned inside. "But the more kids who fell down, the more space we needed. So, Toriel finally opened this room up and we've been using it for Bell, Laurel, and Hop. Bell used to share with Alex and I, but when Laurel showed up those two were always together; so, we just put them in here."

Like the first room, there were three twin-sized beds. There was a closet and a chest of drawers, more photos hanging on the walls and sitting in frames on flat surfaces, and toys and notebook pages scattered neatly throughout the room. Frisk smiled at a little drawing of a sunny day hanging over the one bed.

"There used to be a huge king-sized bed in here but it really didn't make sense to keep it; so we just sort of reconstructed the frame into two smaller beds," Robin said. 

Frisk turned and left the room, wandering a little further up the hallway and stopping in front of a large mirror. Robin came and stood by them.

"It's you!" Robin grinned, and Frisk smiled back up at them.

* * *

"Toriel! Laurel and I are going for a walk!" Bell called out, tugging on a huge, fuzzy sweater in the main entrance. 

Toriel emerged from the living room where she had been reading. "Perhaps I should go with you?" she suggested.

"Toriel, _please_ , it's just a short walk," Bell sighed in an exasperated tone that indicated this was a topic that had been well-discussed in the past.

"Alright then, my children," Toriel nodded. "Please, be careful. Do you both have your cell phones?" 

Laurel and Bell both brandished their phones for Toriel to see. Then, Toriel came over and gave them each a kiss on the cheek before sending them off out the front door.

The two walked quickly away from their house, passing the distance in silence. They didn't stop until they reached the ongoing Spider Bake Sale. Laurel tossed a few coins into one of the webs and some spiders crawled down to give them a donut. Shoving the pastry into their pocket, Laurel turned back to their best friend.

"Okay, so," Laurel began, checking over their shoulder to make sure they were alone. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" 

"Only if you're thinking: Seven kids. Seven souls. One destroyed barrier." Bell grinned. 

"Exactly," Laurel grinned. 

"We can finally get out of here and break the barrier!" Bell jumped up and down with excitement. Their rejoicing was short-lived however as a thought crept into their head to discredit all their reasons to think they would be able to leave the underground. "It'll never work." 

"Well, that's a great attitude to have, Bell," Laurel huffed, slumping back against the wall. "Why won't it work, pray tell?" 

Bell sighed and leaned against the wall, folding their arms over their chest. "Toriel's never gonna let all of us leave the Ruins. She's scared of the Underground." Bell slumped to the floor and drew their knees up to their chest.

"You don't know that," Laurel said, sliding down to sit next to Bell. "If we all tell her together how much we want to try, I'm sure she'll let us leave. Maybe even come with us!" 

"That won't work either," Bell shook their head, staring dismally down at the floor. 

Laurel let out a heavy breath. "How come?" 

Bell turned their head and looked at Laurel over their hunched shoulder. "Even if we convinced Toriel to let us leave, who's going to convince Robin? They're never gonna want to leave and you know it. Rob's got more patience than an E.R. but that also makes them stubborn as hell. God, it took me three months to convince them to help us get Toriel to change our bedtimes. Who you think is gonna change their mind about leaving the Ruins? Because I know I sure can't." 

Laurel's eyes widened behind their glasses, they hadn't thought of that but knew Bell was right. Robin would never leave Toriel's side. And even if they could somehow get their other siblings to leave with them, without all seven souls it would be a completely hollow victory. Laurel stared at the spiders as they spun their webs, trying to think a way out of this problem. After a moment, they realized there was a new variable in play that no one could predict. A variable that might be the difference between leaving and staying. A variable that had just fallen down. 

"Maybe Frisk could," Laurel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's chapter one!! Lemme know what you think! I'm definitely gonna keep working on this since it's something I've been working on for a while now, but comments are always appreciated!!!
> 
> Attributes/Names/Ages for Anyone Interested:
> 
> Patience- Robin -18  
> Bravery- Alex -16  
> Integrity- Bell -14  
> Perseverance-Laurel-12/13  
> Kindness- Twain -12  
> Justice - Hop -11  
> Determination-Frisk-8/9


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daily routine and getting to know the other kids better.

Frisk woke up after everyone else. The beds around them were both neatly made and the room was empty. They didn't know how long they had slept for, but figured it must have been long enough for the family not to wait for them to eat breakfast. There was a plate of food on the floor by their bed-or rather, by Robin's bed-and they ate it in the bedroom before they went out to find the others.

Stepping out of the room, Frisk took their plate down to the kitchen. They passed Bell in the midst of what they assumed were ballet stretches; they had one leg braced up against the living room wall and was doing a series of complicated bends and twists that Frisk was sure they would never be able to replicate. Laurel sat cross-legged on the floor, back away from Frisk, giving Bell notes on their technique. 

Entering the kitchen, Frisk saw Twain was bustling about at the sink with the dirty dishes. They felt relieved that they hadn't slept long enough for everything to have already been cleaned up. Plunking their plate down on the countertop, Twain looked down and smiled at them.

"Hi, Frisk!" Twain beamed, their whole face lighting up with just a smile. "I'm glad you slept well. I remember, I was worn out when I first fell down."

Frisk smiled and glanced around the kitchen, as if expecting another person to be hiding in the small space.

"Are you looking for the others?" Twain asked.

Frisk nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you saw Bell and Laurel's ballet practice going on out there," Twain pointed out to the living room where Bell was now pressing a hand against the wall and doing a plié. "They do that every morning, helps them 'stay limber' is what Bell says. Bell is so talented; I couldn't move like that if my life depended on it."

Frisk laughed and gestured to themself to let Twain know they couldn't move like that either. 

Twain grinned and turned back to the sink, continuing with the dishes while they talked. "Mom is out doing her daily rounds, she should be back soon. Robin and Alex went out into the Ruins to look for a bed for you; knowing those two, it will take a while for them to agree on a bed they both think is suitable. When they all get back, we'll have school for the day. Mom's an amazing teacher. And, uh, Hop is somewhere around here...I could've sworn I-"

"BOO!" Hop burst out from one of the kitchen cabinets and jumped up into Twain's face. Twain gave a frightened shriek, jumping back a good foot when Hop flew out into the open. Frisk startled, but didn't make a sound. "Did I _scare_ you two, huh?"  

"Yes," Twain clutched their chest, but they were smiling down at their sibling. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?" 

Hop clutched their chest and spun around, collapsing on the floor. " _Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?_ " Hop recited dramatically, then fell into a giggling fit on the kitchen tiles. They winked and shot finger guns at Twain. "You're starting to sound more and more like Robin every day."

"Is that a bad thing?" Twain blushed.

"Nope, just a thing," Hop shrugged, hauling their knees up to their chest and then launching to their feet. As they came jolting upright, Hop's tumultuous hair whirled like a hurricane, knocking in Frisk's face so they were spitting locks of long dark hair from their mouth as Hop began talking a mile a minute. "Well, look what the sun brought up! Hah! Just kidding, there's no sun down here. Bummer, I know, but you get used to it after a while. Did you sleep alright? How's your first official day here going?"

"They just woke up, Hop," Twain said.

"Sometimes you can tell a day is good or bad just by waking up," Hop retorted, sticking their tongue out. "So, how's today feeling?"

Frisk gave Hop a thumbs up. Hop's face split into a huge grin, making their eyes squint shut.

"That's awesome, dude!" Hop held up their hand for a high-five; Frisk jumped up to slap their hand to Hop's. "Come on, let's go play! Wanna come, Twain?"

"No, I think I'll stay here," Twain said. "I have to finish these dishes. You two have fun."

"Okeydokey," Hop shot Twain a salute and turned about-face, grabbing Frisk's hand and tugging them along.  

* * *

Alex and Robin strode through the Ruins side by side. They passed old houses and abandoned buildings, ignoring ones they had looted in the past and peering into ones they hadn't explored yet. It had been a favorite pass time of theirs to go through the old city in search of usable items since the two of them had been old enough that Toriel let them leave the house unaccompanied. They enjoyed it even more when there was a specific item to seek out, turning the trip into a sort of treasure hunt. Toriel usually sent them out whenever she needed larger items, like beds or chairs; or items she knew would take a long time for her to get by herself but a significantly shorter amount for the two of them to find. And, as long as they had their cell phones with them, Toriel didn't feel quite so uneasy at letting her two oldest children out of her sight. 

"Ooh! What about that one?" Alex was pointing into an small house's window. Robin looked in and saw the bed Alex was suggested and shook their head. 

"Alex, we don't need a king-sized bed. If we did, I'm sure Mom would have kept that old one in tact instead of refurbishing it. Be sensible," Robin said, continuing down the street.

"Just thought it might be nice," Alex shrugged. 

"What about this?" Robin called out, running into another house. 

"Hey, wait for me, Rob!" Alex called, bolting after their sibling.

Alex found Robin inspecting a small twin bed with rumpled old sheets mangled on the mattress.

"Guess whoever left this here was in a big hurry," Alex remarked.

"Or just didn't make their bed ever," Robin said. "What do you think?"

"I mean, it's a charming little bed, Rob. But don't you think it could be a bit-"

"Please, no."

"A bit fancier?" Alex suggested. "Maybe we should look for a bed with a canopy! Or a waterbed!!"

Robin pinched the bridge of their nose and inhaled sharply. "We don't need a waterbed. Could you imagine the disaster that would cause in our house? You know how much Hop loves to jump on the beds. One hole in that mattress and-"

"Okay, okay, I got it," Alex surrendered. "Just a suggestion. This bed is too plain though."

"It looks just like every other bed in our house!" Robin said.

"Yeah, and I think Frisk might like a little something special to make them feel good," Alex explained. "A bed like that would just put them to sleep!"

Robin gave Alex a look like they wanted to put them through a wall. "That's the whole idea behind a bed, you know," When Alex just stared blankly in return, Robin threw up their hands and stepped away from the bed. "Fine, let's keep looking."

"After you," Alex gestured towards the door; Robin swished by and stepped back out onto the street.

"So, what do you think of Frisk?" Alex asked as the two continued down the road.

"Well..." Robin looked up to the top of the cavern. "They don't say much do they?"

"Nah, they don't," Alex laughed. "Gotta watch out for the quiet ones. They're always up to something."

"Shut up," Robin shoved against Alex's chest. "They're just a little kid."

"Little kids are hardcore, Rob," Alex said. "Remember when I punched that flower in the face?"

"So brave," Robin swooned sarcastically. "You punched a flower."

"Alright, I see you wanna fight!" Alex shouted, grabbing Robin into a headlock.

Robin turned their head, elbowed Alex in the stomach, and hauled them over their shoulder. Alex's back slammed against the ground and Robin swiped their hands together, laughing over their sibling.

"What's the score now? Thirty-to-zero?" Robin asked.

"I'll get you one day," Alex jumped up. "Come on, let's go find this freakin' bed."

* * *

Frisk and Hop lay on their stomachs in the main entrance, coloring with a set of broken crayons. Hop was attempting to draw a horse, and getting frustrated at their complete mangling of the animal's legs. Frisk was coloring a sort of makeshift map of the Ruins, but was having trouble remembering everything they'd seen on the way to Toriel's house.

"You missed the Spider Bake Sale," Laurel pointed out, sitting down next to Frisk. Frisk blinked confusedly up at them. "Oh man, you didn't stop by the Bake Sale? I'll take you sometime. It's better to get on the spiders' good sides and support their cause, y'know?" 

Frisk nodded; then, looking to the right, they pointed to the staircase leading downwards.

"Hm?" Laurel raised their eyebrows and looked at the staircase. "Oh, the stairs to the basement? We don't really go down there."

Frisk cocked their head to the side and stared at Laurel.

"That's the way out to the rest of the Underground," Bell said, laying down on their stomach next to Hop.

Frisk's mouth formed a perfect 'O' as they glanced back at the staircase again.

"Thinking about making a run for it?" Bell asked. 

Frisk hurriedly shook their head. Bell laughed, their curls bouncing lightly.

"Hey, I've been there," Bell shrugged. "Toriel says it's dangerous to leave here, but I don't know. Robin's got her back on us all staying here though. Which just isn't fair because of all of us, Robin's the only one who's actually been out in the rest of the underground."

"Yeah, and that's why they're so adamant about us not going out there," Laurel said, throwing Bell a look. "I don't know, I think if I were Robin, I wouldn't be so hasty to leave either." 

"Okay but irregardless," Bell rolled onto their side. "Let's be real here, Robin's got more authority over us than Toriel does at this point. If we want a prayer of getting anything set into motion, we'd have to get Robin on our side." 

"Are you thinking about leaving, Bell?" Twain shuffled into the room, a sad look on their face. "I mean, I guess I understand if that's what you want but I just...I'll miss you." 

"Aw, buddy," Bell's face softened when they looked at Twain. "You think I would leave you behind? If I ever leave, I'm taking all of you with me. We're a family, right?"

"YEAH!" Hop jumped up all of a sudden. "Together, we're unstoppable! We'd march right up to the barrier and punch King Asgore right in his stupid face!" 

Frisk gave a puzzled look at the name. Without further prompting, Laurel whipped out their notebook and began to recite from the page.

"King Asgore Dreemurr-the King of All Monsters. Swore an oath to his people that he would kill every human who falls into the Underground, take their souls, and use the power to shatter the Barrier," Laurel said. "That's why Toriel doesn't want any of us to leave. She's worried Asgore will kill us all. And the monsters here in the Underground, well, they've been here a long time. Being imprisoned for so long is enough to make anyone desperate. Just making it to the barrier would be treacherous."

"I'm not scared of anything! No monster tells me where I can and cannot go!" Hop declared, standing with their hands on their hips. "I'll fight my way through this whole cavern and then I'll break the barrier and-"

"Did someone order a bed!?" Robin's voice interrupted as they burst in through the front door, hefting a twin bed over their shoulders.The long skirts of their robe were tied up around their thighs and a few loose strands of hair flew out of their ribbon. Alex had the back of the bed lifted up in their arms and helped carry it into the main entrance. The two oldest kids set the bed down and Robin sat back on the mattress.

"What do you think?" Alex asked, running a hand against the ornately carved bed frame. "I picked it out."

Frisk smiled and nodded at Alex, giving them a thumbs-up.

"You planning on leaving it there?" Bell asked. "I know we're short on space but I don't think Frisk wants to sleep in the main entryway."

"Bell, duh, this is gonna be where you sleep now," Alex gave a sarcastic lift of their eyebrows, sporting their best shit-eating grin. "You don't mind giving up your bed to Frisk, do you?" 

"I can assure you I _do_ mind, you jerk!" Bell stood up in an outrage. "There is no way I'm-" 

"We'll move it in a minute, we're just taking a break," Robin said, fixing Alex with an annoyed roll of their eyes before turning to their younger siblings. "So, what are you guys up to?"

The other children looked at each other; Bell began to splutter a response but failed to come up with anything remotely intelligible.

"WE'RE GONNA SET THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND FREE!!" Hop burst out, pointing their empty gun at Robin. "Reach for the sky, Asgore! You're no match for us!"

Robin blinked once before bursting out laughing. They stood up and drew themself up to look bigger than they were. " _Give up now!_ " Robin bellowed, deepening their voice. " _No human has ever gotten past me!_ "

"Fool! You've never fought six at once all by yourself!!" Alex jumped over the bed and wrapped their arms around Robin's waist, whipping them in a circle. "Tackle him!" 

Robin shrieked as all of the other kids fell upon them, pulling them to the ground in a huge pile of giggling children.

"Okay, I surrender!" Robin laughed under the crushing weight of all their siblings.

"Tell me you'll give me the crown!" Hop demanded, straddled across Robin's chest. 

"Yes, yes, I'll give anything you want!" Robin said. "Just stop crushing my lungs!"

Hop laughed and stepped off of their sibling. The others stood up as well and helped Robin to their feet. Robin's hair had all but come out of its ponytail so Robin just pulled the ribbon out and let their orange hair fly loose down their back.

"Robin, your hair is so pretty like that," Twain admired Robin's hair as they combed it back with their fingers. "You should leave it like that all the time!"

"No, I like to keep it out of the way," Robin said, retying their hair with the ribbon at the base of their neck. "Besides, I've worn this ribbon forever, I can't just abandon my signature look."

"You used to wear it like a headband," Alex recalled, tugging on their own bandana.

"True, but my hair wasn't that long back then," Robin said. "So, are we going to move this bed or not?"

"Yeah!" Alex whooped, pumping their fist in the air. "Let's _do_ this!"

"Alright," Robin crossed back to the bed and lifted from the bottom; Alex took the other side and together they moved it to the room at the end of the hallway.

They called Frisk in so they could position it the way they liked, and Frisk pointed their hands to the left and right and waved to tell them the bed was positioned just right. But even though they smiled and went along with the whole ceremony, Frisk knew they weren't planning on ever using the bed Robin and Alex had so painstakingly selected for them. Because Frisk was determined to leave the Ruins that day. 

* * *

Toriel returned later in the day, reporting nothing new from the Ruins. She had said a quick hello to everyone, and then gone downstairs. Frisk almost followed her, but had been stopped by Bell.

"Best not to do that," Bell shook their head. "She doesn't like for any of us to even go down there. Makes her really upset, in her own Toriel way of being upset."

Frisk had no idea what that could mean, but didn't make another move to go downstairs. They did gesture down at the staircase again, hoping Bell caught their drift as to what they were asking. It wasn't that they couldn't talk, it was just that they preferred not to. Words had always been hard for Frisk and they often found it easier to just stay silent and let other people do the talking.

"You wanna know what she does down there?" Bell guessed and Frisk nodded. "Well, we don't really know. She goes down there like every day at this time, sometimes she's down there for hours. Whenever she comes back up, she's all smiley and giggly and always starts telling us these really lame jokes. Whatever it is that keeps her down there for so long, I'm at least glad it puts a smile on her face."

* * *

Robin sat on the floor of one of the bedrooms, Hop sitting in their lap as Robin wrestled their younger sibling's hair into two long braids. 

"Thank you so much for doing my hair, Robin!" Hop beamed, turning their head so Robin could see them smiling. "You're the best at braids." 

"You're welcome. Although, it'd be much easier if you'd quit turning around," Robin chuckled, reaching up and gently turning Hop's face back around to stare straight ahead. 

"Sorry," Hop said, pattering their hands against the carpet. "So, do you like Frisk?" 

"Hm?" Robin perked up as if woken from a nap. "Yeah, of course. Do you like Frisk?" 

"I love them!" Hop whirled around to face Robin again.

"Hop!" Robin laughed as their sibling's hair was ripped from their fingers. 

"Sorry, sorry!" Hop laughed right back, turning around and setting their gaze firmly on a self-portrait Bell had drawn they'd taped up on the wall near their bed. "Yeah, I really like Frisk. I'm so happy they're here." 

"Me too," Robin said, tying the end of one of Hop's braids and moving onto the other section of hair to start the second.

"Soooooooo..." Hop flexed their bare toes out and curled their fingers nervously into their sweaty palms. "So, there are seven of us now, huh?" 

Robin's fingers stopped and there was dead silence in the room for a brief moment before they regained their composure. "Yeah, that's right." 

"That's enough to break the barrier, isn't it?" Hop asked. "I mean, that's what Laurel's always saying." 

"Uhm, well, I guess the seven of our souls would be enough to break the barrier, yes," Robin said, picking up their braiding as their words shook out of their mouth. 

"That'd be cool to, like, free the underground, wouldn't it?" Hop asked, picking at a hole in their jeans.

"Yeah, it would be," Robin murmured, tying the end of Hop's other braid and setting their hands on their younger sibling's shoulders. Standing up in a hurry, Robin moved towards the door. "Well, you're all set! I should-" 

"Robin, hold on," Hop stood up. 

Robin sighed, turning fully towards Hop and locking eyes with them. "Yes, Hop?" 

Hop fiddled their fingers around on their palm, but managed to keep their nerves off their face. "I think we should try it. Breaking the barrier, I mean."

Cupping a hand around the back of their neck, Robin closed their eyes and sighed again. "Hop, I-"  

"I know it's dangerous," Hop said, glancing up at the exposed skin of Robin's forearm and hiding a shudder as they caught sight of the gashed scars lacing their oldest sibling's skin. "But I think if it would help people in the long run, it'd be worth it. Don't you?" 

Robin took a deep breath, opening their eyes and giving Hop a sad smile. "I think it would, Hop, I do," they said, biting their lip and looking to the side. "But it's just too risky. There's no guarantee we could do it." 

"Robin!" Hop rushed forward, reaching up and taking both of Robin's hands in theirs. "All seven of us together would be unstoppable!" 

Robin's smile widened and they gave a light laugh. "I'm glad you think so, Hop," they said, pulling their hands free so they could wrap Hop in a tight hug. "I'm sorry that I can't be as confident as you are." 

"That's okay," Hop sighed, pressing their cheek into Robin's shoulder. "It's not fair to ask you to leave Home if you aren't ready. Just thought it was worth a try." 

"Well, it's-" Robin pulled back, arms still wrapped loosely around Hop as they looked into their young round face. Robin paused for a moment, throwing a glance to the carpet before bringing their gaze back up to Hop. "Don't stop trying, okay? Maybe one of these days I'll be ready." 

Hop's smile picked up at that, and they rushed forward to hug Robin again. "Okay, I'll keep trying!" 

* * *

 "Hey, Robin, what'd you get for number one?" Alex leaned across the table and tried to peek at Robin's homework. All of the kids sat together, each one working on different age levels of schoolwork. Hop was showing Frisk everything they'd been learning at the far end of the table; while Toriel sat in her reading chair, poring over a book of snail facts.

"Oh, I got: 'Alex do your own work for once.'" Robin said, shielding their paper from their sibling.

"That's cold, Rob, I'm just trying to check my answers," Alex claimed.

"Okay, then, what'd _you_ get for number one?

Alex looked to Bell for help, but they just rolled their eyes and went back to writing their essay.

"Jeez, Robin," Alex said at last. "Trying to copy my answers? That's low."

Robin glared up at Alex and went back to working.

At the end of the table, Hop was going a mile a minute explaining every topic they'd learned about in explicit detail. Periodically, Laurel would absentmindedly add to Hop's explanations while doing their own work, putting in aspects Hop left out. Frisk nodded along like they were listening, but kept eyeing Toriel from the corner of their eye. They kept looking for the perfect opportunity to ask to leave, but there didn't seem to _be_ a right moment to tell this whole family that they wanted to leave. Eventually, Frisk decided that if no moment was right that they could pick any moment and feel just as miserable afterwards as they would at any time. And they stood up from the table to go over to Toriel.

 _That's a great idea, genius._ Their narrator piped up from the back of their mind. _Let's ask for permission because that always works so well!_

"Uh, Frisk?" Hop called as the smaller child walked away from the table. "Hey, it's alright if you don't get it! Sometimes I don't even understand this stuff!" 

Frisk kept walking, not looking back, until they stood right in front of Toriel in her reading chair. It took a minute for Toriel to realize someone was standing by her, but when she did, she turned her full attention over to Frisk.

"Oh, did you need something? What is it?" Toriel asked, waiting patiently for Frisk's response.

Frisk made a face like they were concentrating really hard on something unpleasant, like when you feel nauseous but wrestle to keep your stomach from upheaving. By now, all of the other kids were looking over at Frisk and Toriel, passing confused and expectant glances between each other. 

Frisk opened their mouth and sucked in a deep breath. It was the most noise they had made since they'd arrived and everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what was so important that Frisk was making audible sounds. 

"Wh-When," Frisk stammered out one word, but then clammed up, glancing over their shoulder at the other children.

"It is alright, Frisk," Toriel encouraged them to continue. "Take your time. I am listening."

Frisk took another deep breath and forced themself to lock eyes with Toriel.

 _Like ripping off a bandaid._ Their narrator said. 

 _I've been wearing the same bandaid on my face for weeks, though._ Frisk thought back at them.

_Shit. I'm fresh out of idioms then, buddy. Your on your own._

Blowing the hair from their face in exasperation, Frisk forced the words out of their mouth and braced for impact. 

"When can I go home?"


	3. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's nothing quite so hard as parting with one's children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to play w/ Toriel's game dialogue a bit on this one, hope it still sounds like her.

A chorus of stifled gasps and shocked murmurs sounded behind Frisk, disappointment and sadness all laced into one heaping burden of guilt on their shoulders; but nothing felt quite so sour as the horrified shock on Toriel's face at the drop of their request to go home. Frisk waited for Toriel's response like a prisoner on death row waiting to be executed; they'd rather be anywhere but in that situation but they'd sealed their fate so there was no use trying to backtrack.

"What?" Toriel replied softly, even though her voice was wrought with tension. "This...This IS your home now."

Robin felt as if they were going to chew through their bottom lip with how strong their nerves were reacting to the situation; they wanted nothing more than to step in and moderate, but knew that this conversation didn't involve them. At least not yet. They locked eyes with Alex, who was gripping the back of their chair so hard their knuckles were white, and the two exchanged a look of dread between them.

"Um..." Toriel said, fidgeting nervously in her chair. "Would you like to hear about this book I am reading?"

Frisk's shoulders sagged in despair that their question was being deflected like this. They'd mustered up all of their courage and energy to ask Toriel to help them get home, and now they felt as if they weren't being listened to. Deep down, they understood Toriel's apprehension but, on the surface, they knew they couldn't stay in one place where they weren't happy for someone else.

"It is called '72 Uses for Snails.'" Toriel continued, attempting to ease Frisk away from the topic and failing magnificently at the art of subtlety. "How about it?"

Frisk pinched their face up, growing frustrated. They shook their head. 

"How do I exit the Ruins?" Frisk demanded.

"Um...How about an exciting snail fact?"

Bell stared, gape-mouthed at the scene before them. Their hands were lifted up in front of them as an outward display of their inability to comprehend what was happening. Of course they had been planning on organizing their siblings to ask to leave, but they hadn't expected Frisk to have plans to head out on their own. Frisk had no idea how to talk to Toriel, and Bell wanted to stand up and take over Frisk's role in the conversation but could only remain sitting in stunned horror as if watching a train wreck. 

"Did you know that snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature?" Toriel said. "Interesting."

Laurel, who on any other day would have been fascinated by these tidbits of snail information, was much more captivated to see how long Frisk would pursue their question. They had even pushed their glasses up onto their forehead, revealing their round green eyes for the first time in weeks, just so everyone would know they were shocked and enthralled at the scene unfolding before them.

Frisk took a brazen step forward and placed a hand on Toriel's open book, blocking the page from her view. 

"How. To Exit. The Ruins." Frisk enunciated. 

Toriel looked over at her other children; she locked eyes with Twain who had clapped a hand over their mouth as soon as Frisk had first asked to leave. Even though they were one of the younger children and definitely the most soft-spoken, Twain wasn't an idiot. They knew how much some of their siblings wanted to leave the Ruins, but had always hoped that if they ignored it the issue would fade and disappear like rain on a sidewalk evaporating into the afternoon sun. Now, here was Frisk bringing a veritable monsoon into the room with a single question. 

"I have to do something," Toriel announced. "Stay here." 

Hop almost flew into a panic when Toriel stood from her chair and hurried from the room. More than they hated being told to stay still or stay away from something they were interested in, they hated seeing their mother upset. They fidgeted around, looking at their dumbfounded siblings for a clue as to how they should be reacting; but their siblings were all sitting frozen in shock and confusion. Whipping around, they looked to Frisk, but found they were already following Toriel out of the room. And although Hop wanted nothing more than to know what Toriel was up to downstairs, they leapt from their seat and grabbed Frisk's wrist.

"Frisk, I don't think you should," Hop said. Their action seemed to snap their siblings back to attention and soon felt the crowd in the room shift to directly behind them. 

Frisk looked up at Hop and all of the other kids. Then, they reached over and gently removed Hop's hand from their wrist. They turned and continued towards the stairs. 

The other kids all looked at each other for what to do. Again, Hop was the first to act, running after Frisk. Hearing their siblings behind them, Hop headed downstairs for the first time.

Frisk had followed Toriel down the stairs and found themself in a musty, dark passageway. The walls and floor were the same rich purple as the rest of the Ruins, but the narrowness of the tunnel made Frisk feel distinctly less at ease than they had felt in the rest of the Ruins. The other six children traipsed behind them, keeping a good distance from Frisk and Toriel but attentively eavesdropping nonetheless.

Toriel was standing with her back to the others, staring blankly ahead of her. She seemed to have been waiting for Frisk to follow her, like she expected her orders to be ignored.

"You wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not?" Toriel spoke, not looking back at Frisk. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again."

Frisk backed away, suddenly afraid of Toriel. Behind them, Bell gasped and tried to start forward, but Robin stuck an arm out to stop them. 

"Get off of me," Bell said, shoving against Robin's arm and surging forward. 

"Bell, leave it," Robin pleaded, reaching out for their sibling. 

"No," Bell waved a hand backwards to ward off Robin's outstretched palm. "She can't do this. I won't let her. Not when I've waited so long to leave. There's no way I'm gonna let her destroy our one way out."

"Bell, I am sorry," Toriel said, starting down the hallway again. "But you would only meet your death if you were to leave," Throwing a glance over he shoulder, Toriel saw that the seven humans were still following close behind. "You naive children," she shook her head as she continued down the long hall. "If you leave the Ruins, they - Asgore - will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand?" 

Frisk blinked up at Toriel's back. They did understand and a part of them was saying to just listen to her and go back upstairs with the others and live their life in the Ruins and be happy with that. But the other, larger part of Frisk was saying that Toriel's fear couldn't become theirs and Toriel's happiness couldn't be theirs either. They knew they couldn't be happy just living the rest of their life in the Ruins. Something had made Toriel resolve to never leave that place and Frisk didn't know what exactly it was, but they weren't at that point. Not yet. They followed Toriel further down the tunnel.

"Mom, come on," Alex stepped forward this time, reaching out and taking a hold of Toriel's wrist. "This is ridiculous, can't we talk this out? You don't have to destroy the exit, let's talk about it, please." 

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning," Toriel said, her stern tone softening a bit as she reached up and put a hand to Alex's cheek. "Be a good child and take your siblings upstairs. It will all be over soon and then we will all be safe and happy as if none of this unpleasantness had happened at all." 

Alex looked bewildered as Toriel turned away from them and disappeared into the next room.

"You guys," Robin spoke at last. "Let's just go upstairs, okay? It's not so bad here."

"Rob, no," Alex said. "This is wrong and you know it. Choosing to stay is one thing but Toriel destroying our only exit? That's messed up." 

"I'm not saying I agree, it's just that we can't fight her," Robin said, hands on their hips. "She's stronger than all seven of us. She kind of overrules us by default." 

"You see!? That is super messed up!" Alex exclaimed. 

Twain worried their hands over each other. "You don't think she'd hurt us, do you?" 

"Of course not," Robin said. "But we can't stop her from destroying the exit-" 

"We can try," Bell piped up. "I'm not taking this sitting down, no way. I'd like to see the sun again in my lifetime, I don't know about the rest of you." 

"Standing here bickering isn't going to do anything to help," Laurel said, stomping up to the doorway Toriel had passed through. "For all we know, Toriel could've smashed that doorway already." 

"Laurel's right," Hop said. "We've gotta go in there." 

Frisk nodded, taking up the lead and waving the others along with them. In truth, they'd leave the Ruins with or without the six other humans; but they could tell that leaving was something all of them, even Robin, was something they wanted to some degree. So, they forged ahead and hoped that the others had courage enough to follow them.

Toriel stood facing a huge set of double doors which were purple and embossed with the same design on Toriel's and Robin's robe.

"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel asked as she watched the seven children file into the small area. "Hmph. And what of the rest of you? Would you leave so quickly? I see that I have been an old fool all these years in thinking you had all lost the inclination to leave the Ruins."

The other children, usually so comfortable talking with Toriel, found themselves afraid to say anything in case it would upset her further.

Toriel sighed, her shoulders sagging. "There is only one solution to this," Toriel spoke to Frisk. "Prove yourself...Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Robin gasped, pushing their siblings further back behind them as the room began to dim. "Mom, wait!" They made a grab to pull Frisk back as well, but it was too late. The battle had begun.

A shadowy sort of wall went up, keeping the other children out of the battle between Frisk and Toriel. The six others all ran up, pressing their faces up against the wall to look into the battle; all of them shouted out for Toriel and Frisk to stop, but their pleas couldn't be heard through the murk of the battle dome.

Toriel stood in front of Frisk, blocking the way. Her face was a mask of impenetrable strength, and she made no signs of giving up easily. Frisk looked up at her and decided they wouldn't give up either, but they also decided that they could win this without hurting Toriel. Right off the bat, Frisk refused to even attack, and spared Toriel.

Toriel seemed to have a different mindset. After being spared, Toriel began her attack. Flames rained down from the ceiling and surrounded Frisk on all sides. Frisk tried their best to dodge the attacks, but hadn't been expecting Toriel to be so powerful. They took a hit to their arm and could envision a yellow bar lowering in front of them, blinking the letters "HP" at one end. Frisk remembered this from when Flowey had attacked them; they also remembered that if they got down to zero, it would be all over. 

 _How do I beat her?_ Frisk thought frantically.

 _Why would you want to beat her?_ Their narrator replied. _She knows what's best for you._

Toriel's attack ended. Frisk spared her again, bracing themself for another attack. Flames rained down again. Toriel's turn ended. Frisk spared her again. And they got attacked again, their HP taking a hit every turn. Still, they never attacked. They were determined to get through this battle without striking a blow against Toriel. They spared her again.

Through all of this, Toriel remained in stony silence. However, as Frisk's HP got lower and lower, Toriel seemed to be weakening her attacks. At one point, Frisk was sure that she was making it so the flames wouldn't hit them on purpose. Frisk felt hopeful that they were getting through to her. They spared her again.

"What are you doing?" Toriel asked at last, frustrated with Frisk's lack of fighting.

Another attack. No damage.

"Attack or run away!" Toriel said, striking out another attack.

Again, Frisk suffered no further damage. Now they were sure Toriel was making her attacks dodge their body on purpose. 

"What are you proving this way?" Toriel demanded.

More flames.

"Fight me or leave!" Toriel shouted.

Another attack. Frisk looked from side to side as the flames fell around them. They looked up at Toriel with big, pleading eyes that told her they knew what she was doing.

"Stop it," Toriel said before her next attack. "Stop looking at me that way."

Frisk kept sparing her. No matter how many times it took, they were going to keep sparing Toriel until she got the picture that they weren't giving up.

"Go away!" Toriel yelled.

Another damageless attack.

Toriel went silent again after that. Frisk became worried that her resolve had rehardened and they would have to spare her for forever, but after a few more attacks that were just flames falling down around them, she spoke again.

"I know you want to go home, but..." Toriel said, her voice soft and full of sadness. "But please, go upstairs now."

Frisk shook their head, still sparing her even though she wasn't attack anymore.

"I promise I will take good care of you here," Toriel smiled gently down at Frisk, pleading with them to stay. "I know we do not have much, but...We can have a good life here."

But Frisk still wouldn't budge. They spared her again.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Toriel asked. "Please, go upstairs."

Frisk shook their head.

"Ha ha..." Toriel laughed hollowly. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a small child."

Toriel went quiet again for a turn. Frisk gave her a sympathetic look.

"No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here," Toriel said, glancing towards Bell's silhouette against the battledome. "The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It is not right for you children to grow up in a place like this. 

"My expectations...My loneliness...My fear...For you, my children, I will put them aside," Toriel said, and the wall of shadow finally went down. The other children stood back with bewildered expressions on their faces. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins, I will not stop you."

"Mom..." Robin whispered, forehead wrinkling in confusion.

"This goes for all of you as well," Toriel addressed her other children. "However, when you leave...Please, do not come back. I hope you understand."

Toriel knelt down and wrapped her arms around Frisk; then, standing up, took one last look at the small human. "Goodbye, my child." Toriel stepped around Frisk and went to her other children. Frisk crossed to the double doors, but didn't exit them yet. They waited to see if anyone would go with them.

Bell looked between Frisk and Toriel for a solid minute, before stepping forward with Laurel's hand in theirs. 

"Frisk, wait!" Bell called out. "We're going with you!"

Toriel's shoulders sagged as two more of her children turned to hug her goodbye. Wrapping her arms around them both at the same time, Toriel squeezed Laurel and Bell tightly to her chest. When she finally pulled away, she took one of each of their hands in hers and looked at their faces as if trying to memorize them both.

"Be good, alright?" Toriel said to both of them. "Take care of each other. Do not get hurt. Do not hurt anyone."

They nodded in unison, both tearing up.

"And Bell," Toriel said, cupping both her hands around Bell's heart-shaped face. "Forgive me. I should have let you leave a long time ago. It was selfish of me to keep you here. I will miss you very much."

"I'll miss you, too," Bell threw their arms around Toriel's neck and buried their face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her fur and trying to imprint it in their memory. 

"Keep up with your studies, my child," Toriel turned to Laurel. "You are smart enough to get out of this horrible place alive, and loving enough to do it without killing anyone."

"I'll do my best," Laurel nodded, going in for another hug as well. 

Taking each other's hands, Bell and Laurel stepped to the door and stood by Frisk. All three looked over to the rest of their siblings to see if anyone else would join them. 

Hop danced from one foot to another, biting their lip and looking up to their older siblings for what to do. Toriel saw them struggling to speak up, and knelt down in front of them.

"You can go too, Hop, it is alright," Toriel said. 

"But I..." Hop looked down at their shoes and kicked the dirty purple floor. "It's not fair. We should all leave together. I don't want you to stay here if I can't be with you."

Toriel laughed, taking her child in her arms. "There, there, little one. We may see each other again someday. I know it is not fair, but you will find not much in this life is." 

"I love you," Hop mumbled into Toriel's chest, hugging her closer. 

"I love you, too," Toriel planted a kiss on top of their head and, pulling out of the hug, guided them towards the door. "Go on. It will be alright. You will be alright."

Hop bolted to the door and threw their arms around Bell's waist, pressing their face into their stomach and beginning to sob. 

"Welp," Alex said, stepping forward. "Someone needs to supervise these mangy punks."

Toriel laughed. "Thank you, Alex," she rose to her full height and hugged her tallest child. "Be strong. You can make it."

"Love you," Alex murmured, pressing their cheek into Toriel's shoulder. 

Toriel looked up at her child and touched their face. "You've grown so much since you first came here," she said. "Continue to grow once you leave, my child. I love you."

Alex nodded and then made their way to their siblings by the door. 

Twain stood twiddling their fingers around the handle of their frypan they had brought with them. "I..." they faltered, not knowing whether they wanted to leave or stay. They hated to lose all of their siblings, but didn't want to lose Toriel and Robin either. 

"You should go, Twain," Robin said, seeing their sibling's struggle to decide. They knelt down and put their hands on their shoulder. "It's not right for you to be separated from all of your siblings. We'll be fine here."

Twain's lip trembled and they burst into tears, hugging Robin close to them and soaking the front of their robe with tears. "I'll miss you so much," they sobbed.

"It's okay, Twain. Shh," Robin soothed their sibling, rubbing their back in slow circles. "I'll miss you too. I love you." 

"I love you," Twain repeated, stepping back from Robin and running directly into Toriel's arms. "I love you too, Mom."

"And I love you," Toriel said, holding back tears of her own. "Goodbye, little one. Keep your heart soft, Twain, do not let this world make you cruel."

"I promise," Twain nodded, pulling back. Alex stepped forward and took Twain in their arms, carrying them over to the door and cuddling them close to their side. 

"That only leaves..." Toriel turned to Robin, the last child left. "It is time for you to go, Robin."

"What!?" Robin almost jumped out of their skin in shock. "I don't want to leave! I'm not going."

"My child, you just said yourself: 'It is not right for you to be separated from all of your siblings.' Please, I want you to be with your family," Toriel said, placing a gentle hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin flinched away from their mother's touch, feeling betrayed and unwanted.

"You're my family," Robin said. "I won't leave you."

"I will be fine, my child," Toriel said. "You are the eldest child. You should be there to take care of your siblings. I know it is what you want."

"No it isn't!" Robin protested. "I _want_ to stay with you. This is my _home_! I have never wanted anything more than to be here since the day I banged on that door!"

"Please understand, Robin, I do not want you to be alone down here like me," Toriel said. 

Robin laughed, a harsh half-sobbing noise that caught in their throat as tears welled in their eyes. "I'm not leaving. You don't get to decide that for me." 

"Robin, please," Bell spoke up. "You're the one who looks after us. We need you."

Robin turned away, crossing their arms and squeezing their eyes shut to the world around them.

"Rob, look, Bell's right," Alex spoke next. "You take care of all of us. You are the _only_ one of us who has any experience with what's beyond those doors. We need you if we're going to make it. Besides, could you really spend the rest of your life here, always wondering what happened to us? Or worse, finding out we didn't make it? Could you live with yourself knowing we might have made it if we had you with us?"

"Don't try and guilt me into this," Robin hunched their shoulders up, drawing further in on themself.

"Look, either all of us do it or none of us," Laurel said, their voice all logic and rationality. "We need seven souls to break the barrier, remember? We can't break the barrier with only six human souls. We need all seven. Either that or somehow find a way to use every monster's soul to create the equivalent. Even if the six of us made it to the barrier, it'd be completely worthless without you, Robin." 

Alex sighed at Robin’s continued silence. “Robin, bottomline is we can’t do this without you,” they continued to Robin’s back. “What’s more we don’t want to do this without you. Dammit. I don’t want to do this without you. We’ve been a team for eight years, doesn’t that mean anything to you? I know we fight but...Come on, Rob, wouldn’t you rather put up with me than lose me?”

Robin made a noise like they were biting their tongue to keep from crying and finally whipped around, tears in their eyes as the glared up at Alex.  
  
"Fine!" they bit out. "I'll go with you," Then, turning to Toriel, Robin jabbed a finger at her. "But I am not abandoning you, okay!?" Robin said, chest heaving. "I don't care if we break the barrier or not. I am coming back. And don't you dare try to stop me!"

Toriel blinked and then laughed once. "Oh my child," she smiled, opening her arms. "I do not think I could stop you if I tried." 

"I _will_ see you again. That's a promise," Robin said, wrapping their arms tightly around Toriel. "I love you."

"I love you very much," Toriel smiled. "Take care of them."

Robin nodded, biting their lip to keep from crying in front of Toriel. They knew if they cried now they would never make it out of those doors, they just had to stay strong for a bit longer. Balling their hands into fists, they crossed somberly to their siblings.

Alex reached out to pat their shoulder. “Robin, I-”

But Robin swerved away from their sibling’s touch, infuriated with everyone in the room. “Not now,” they said, not wanting comfort in that moment and just wanting to be upset and to be left alone to be so.

"Okay," Alex murmured softly, taking their hand away without a fight. They fell into step right behind Robin as they walked up to face the daunting doorway looming before them.

"Alright everyone," Robin said, turning a spiteful sneer up at the purple doors. "Let's go."


	4. Snowy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving Home for the first time and the beginning of Snowdin Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will probably be a bit long...gauge that how you will. I lowkey always forget how long it takes to get through Snowdin Forest so there will probably be more than one chapter devoted to this part.

As it turned out, the doors didn't open directly onto the rest of the underground; there was still a long stretch of road to walk and then another doorway awaited. The kids walked in a cluster, Robin at the front. No one was saying anything, the other kids seemed to have silently agreed to give Robin a bit of quiet and space until they felt better. Even though the kids were excited to be heading out of the Ruins, none of them felt particularly like celebrating after having said goodbye to Toriel just a few minutes ago.

Robin sighed and looked back over their shoulder, wanting Toriel to be there to beg them all to stay with her; but there was no one behind them except their siblings. Turning back around, Robin lead their group through the next doorway.

The kids came upon a clearing right before the exit. There was a small raised patch of grass where a single flower sat, waiting. Robin inhaled sharply and slammed both arms out to shield their siblings.

"Well, well, well, look who's finally out of the house," Flowey taunted, giving the group of kids a sickly sweet grin. "So, that old hag finally got rid of you, huh?"

Robin tried to keep their breathing steady, but felt a mixture of rage and terror seize their heart as they locked eyes with the little flower.

"How long has she been trying to get rid of you, huh!?" Flowey snickered up at Robin. "The last time I saw you, you were a pint-sized, scrawny little runt crying about your parents not wanting you anymore. Oh wait...That was yesterday, wasn't it? Heh. Guess _no one_ wants you around, do they?"

"Hey, shut up, you stupid flower!" Alex stepped in, pushing Robin behind them. 

"Oooh hoo hoo," Flowey giggled. "Whatcha gonna do, tough guy? Punch me with your tiny baby fists again!?" 

"Why don't you get out of our way, you pollen-faced jerk!" Bell spat out.

"Oh, the ballerina's threatening me! I'm sooo scared," Flowey stuck his tongue out at Bell. "Remember how I almost killed you last time you got too mouthy? Maybe I should finish the job so you can learn your lesson."

Bell shyed away, fixing Flowey with a glare from behind Robin's protective arm.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm seeing all of you in one place!" Flowey remarked. "Thought that caretaker would've kept you all under lock and key until you all died in that tiny hovel!" Flowey grinned over at Laurel. "Uh-oh, I can almost feel smarty-pants jumping on me for incorrect noun usage! Hey, brainiac, ever think of cleaning your glasses?"

"It's water damage, you idiot!" Laurel shouted. 

"Darn that's right..." Flowey said. "Bet you really wish you'd drowned in that car wreck, huh?" 

"H-Hey!" Twain piped up, their shaking hands gripping tightly to the ends of Robin's skirts. "You shouldn't say things like that to people." 

"And this little cherub!" Flowey turned on Twain next, having way too much fun mocking the children assembled before him. "You're so sweet and nice! I wish I could see how sweet you are after your first monster battle. Oh wait, I have! You cried like a baby, remember?" 

"Leave them alone, you big bully!" Hop shouted, stepping in front of Twain and aiming their gun at Flowey.

"Looks like the sheriff's back in town!" Flowey said. "Why don't you do me in, partner? Could it be because you don't actually have any bullets in that gun? Or are you just really that weak!?" 

Hop looked down at the gun in their hand and blushed, taking a step back.

"But you!" Flowey fixed his eyes on Frisk. "You think you're really smart, don't you?"

Frisk blinked at Flowey, trying to keep their pokerface despite the flower's harsh taunts.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed," Flowey continued, smile still plastered on his face. "So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee...I bet you feel really great. You didn't kill anybody this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world and let ME inherit the power to control it?"

Laurel furrowed their brow and stared down at Frisk. "What is he talking ab-"

"I am the prince of this world's future," Flowey interrupted. "Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Alex demanded at last.

Flowey chuckled and gave Frisk a wink. "Good luck with these idiots."

Then, Flowey's face contorted, growing grotesque and smiley and evil. Flowey gave a villainous cackle and then popped back into the ground.

"I hate that flower," Hop shivered. 

"Let's just get out of here," Bell said, heading towards the gateway. They made it up to the pillars and paused.

"What are you waiting for?" Robin asked, coming up next to Bell. "Thought you couldn't wait to get out of here." 

"I don't know," Bell said. "I didn't think I would ever get to this point. It feels weird to be leaving."

"Hm," Robin nodded. "We could always turn back." 

Bell smiled sympathetically at Robin, taking their hand in both of theirs. "I'm glad you're here, Robin," they said. 

Robin smiled a little, patting Bell's hands with their free one. "Yeah," they said. 

"So, are we gonna go through this gateway or are we just gonna stand here and stare at it?" Alex asked, putting an arm around Robin's shoulders. This time, they didn't shake them off.

"Well, I guess it's now or never," Robin said, but still didn't move from their spot. 

Frisk burst to the front of the crowd, impatiently pushing past the others' legs and Robin's swishing skirts. They walked right up to the gate and stood by it, waving the other kids on. Then, they marched right out into the underground.

The other kids followed with trepidation. Robin was at the front, and could barely walk from the extra weight of their siblings holding onto them. Hop and Twain were each gripping their skirts, Bell still held their hand, Laurel was hugging close to their waist, and Alex was bracing themself against their shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, guys," Robin said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

And together, they all went through the gateway.

* * *

Cold was the first thing the kids thought about the underground. Cold air in their lungs and cold ground under their cold feet. Alex and Robin, who had long since outgrown every pair of shoes they had at Home, felt the keen sting of icy snow under their bare feet.

"Well, nothing like a fresh burst of hypothermia to start a journey out right," Bell blew air out of their cheeks, watching as it clouded in front of them. "Don't you think so, Laurel?" 

But Laurel wasn't paying attention. They were already busily inspecting the bleak surroundings, making notes about the trees and bushes in their notebook. Getting closer to the one bush at the side of the gate, Laurel caught a glimpse of something among the branches.

"What the heck!?" Laurel exclaimed. "There's a camera in these bushes!" 

"Ew, what?" Bell asked, coming over for a look. 

"You think we're on T.V.?" Hop asked, peering into the camera lens.

"Hm, do they have T.V. in the underground?" Alex raised an eyebrow, taking a look at the camera as well.

"Okay," Robin clapped their hands. "Let's get moving. I'm not gonna let us all freeze to death over one tiny camera. Come on." 

Robin ushered everyone in front of them, rounding up the back of the group. They strode quickly down the tree-lined path, a feeling of unease hanging over them all like a funeral shroud. They came across a fallen tree branch, too heavy to bother moving, and they all stepped over it. Robin had just stepped over the branch and was walking away when they heard a snap. Turning around, they found the branch had been broken through as if it were nothing. Not wanting to alarm the others, they turned around and kept moving forward. 

A little further up the road, Robin heard a noise behind them and spun back around with a gasp. This time, their reaction was big enough to catch the others' attention and they all turned around with Robin. 

"What's up?" Alex asked.

"I think we're being followed," Robin said. 

"What!?" Twain gasped, huddling closer to Robin's side.

"I don't see anyone," Bell wrinkled their nose against the biting cold. 

"Who could be following us?" Laurel asked. "We've been walking in a straight line from a dead end." 

"Hmm," Robin frowned, unconvinced. "Well, alright, let's keep going."

So, the seven humans continued on. Bell began to shiver and untied the sweater they'd brought with them from their waist and tugged it on over their striped leotard. Hop had their gun drawn and aimed at every creak and whistle they heard. Twain held Robin's hand with one of theirs and brandished their frypan with the other, shielding their face so they wouldn't have to look at the frightening expanse of forest around them. Laurel seemed to be sketching out some sort of map in their notebook, marking down approximations of distance and location as they walked. Alex was trying not to focus on how cold they were; out of all the children, Alex was the least covered in their striped muscle tee and basketball shorts and was beginning to remember how much they'd hated winter on the surface. Frisk seemed to be the only one unfazed by their surroundings and kept on walking as if nothing bothered them.

A little ways further up the path, Frisk spied a little bridge with what looked like prison bars over it. Except the bars were too far apart to really keep anyone trapped, it was almost funny in an endearingly pathetic sort of way. As the group stopped to look at the bridge, there came the definite sound of footsteps behind them. Robin made sure the others were in front of them, but was too afraid to turn and look at whoever was approaching. The footsteps crunched closer and closer until they came to a stop directly behind Robin.

"Humans," the person rasped out in a voice that sounded as if it were drenched in paint thinner. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand." 

Robin stood stock still, not daring to turn around. "Do you think we should make a run for it?" they muttered between clenched teeth. 

"I feel like this guy would be able to catch up to us in no time," Alex muttered back, not turning around either and holding the rest of the kids in front of themself. 

"Okay," Robin took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." 

Robin turned around and regarded the hand that was outstretched towards them, it was almost covered by the worn sleeves of this person's blue hoodie. The bony white fingers that peeked out from under the sleeve would have unsettled Robin if they hadn't spent the past ten years living in the underground among monsters; as it was, they took almost no notice of the skeleton grinning up at them and reached out to take the hand that had been offered to them.

_Thhhbbbbbtttt!_

Robin blinked in surprise as the person - or rather, skeleton - they'd shaken hands with gave a deep, throaty laugh. They heard giggles emit from their siblings behind them and couldn't fight back a few laughs themself.

"heheh...the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." the little skeleton insisted, angling himself a bit to catch a better look at the six other kids behind Robin. "jeez, you're all human? that's hilarious."

Laurel darted out from the side of the huddle of their siblings and fixed the skeleton with a scrutinous glare. "And who are you? Why are you following us?" 

"i'm sans. sans the skeleton," he said, somehow winking even without eyelids or eyeballs. "as for why i'm following you kiddos, well, i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now."

"Is that so?" Robin asked, their voice cracking as they slowly reached for the hilt of their toy knife in their pocket.

Sans caught Robin's movement and gave a low chuckle. "come on, kiddo, it's alright. i don't really care about capturing anybody. i mean, come on, do i really look like a guy who cares about his job?" he spread his arms wide and grinned up at Robin. "now my brother, papyrus...he's a human-hunting FANATIC."

"Really?" Alex asked. 

"really really," sans nodded, squinting at something in the far distance. "hey, actually, I think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy."

The kids looked back over their shoulders at the gate thingy in question and looked back at sans.

"yeah, go right through," sans motioned for the kids to move with a wave of his hand bones. "my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

Turning around, the kids walked through the gate and across the bridge. They came to a little clearing that had a sentry station and a very tall, oddly-shaped lamp in it. The silhouette of the lamp almost looked like Alex's profile, but with odd lumps jutting out at the legs. 

"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp," sans instructed. 

Frisk led the way and the children found that if they all stood side-by side, they were completely hidden behind the single lamp. 

"This is a little too convenient," Laurel muttered, eyeing sans suspiciously.

"Shh," Alex pressed a finger to their lips as another skeleton marched into the clearing. He was a good deal taller that sans and was wearing a sort of armored suit, but it looked more like a costume than any real battle gear.

"sup, bro?" sans greeted his brother.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER!" the new skeleton shouted; the kids exchanged a grimace at the loud voice. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T...RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?"

"staring at this lamp," sans replied. "it's really cool. do you wanna look?"

The kids gaped at the skeleton, thinking he'd tricked them into getting captured. But sans' brother only got offended at the suggestion.

"NO!!" the taller skeleton stamped his foot. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?!" 

Bell began to laugh at that and three different hands shot out to cover their mouth.

"I WANT TO BE READY!!!" he continued. "I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT...RECOGNITION...I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, 'FRIEND?' I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

The kids all exchanged amused glances of surprise between them; they began to feel distinctly less threatened the more Papyrus carried on.

"hmm..." sans spoke up. "maybe this lamp will help you."

Robin was ready to grab the others and bolt if sans suggested Papyrus look at the lamp one more time, but the taller skeleton still wouldn't take the suggestion.

"SANS!!" Papyrus shouted, like he did with everything he said. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!!" 

"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a **ton** of work done today." sans said. "a skele- **ton**."

The kids all stifled their groans at the pun while sans winked and struck a pose. It was the kind of joke Toriel would've laughed her head off at, but the kind the kids were embarrassed to even hear; except for Bell, who was trying their hardest not to burst out laughing.

"SANS!!!"

"come on. you're smiling," sans grinned up at his brother.

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus shouted. "SIGH...WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"wow," sans began again, and the kids froze up at the makings of another pun. "sounds like you're really working yourself...down to the bone."

More stifled groans. More poses. More shouting.

"UGH!!!" Papyrus scoffed. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, 'BACKBONE' INTO IT!!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"

"I thought only one made puns," Laurel groaned as Papyrus walked out of the space.

"He's coming back, shh," Bell waved a hand to silence Hop. But Papyrus had only briefly stepped back into the clearing to add one more "HEH!" before leaving again. 

"ok, you can come out now," sans said, and the children stepped out from behind the lamp.

"That's a risky little game you were playing," Robin placed their hands on their hips and glowered down at sans.

"you wanna talk risky little games? you're marching through snowdin forest with no shoes on," sans remarked, looking down at Robin and Alex's bare feet.

Robin stammered for a response, but couldn't think of an intelligent argument. They _were_ walking through the coldest part of the underground with no shoes on, and they had already felt their feet begin to go numb from the cold.

"We kinda left home in a hurry," Alex spoke up instead. "Besides, I'm not even cold." 

"uh-huh," Sans gave Alex a thoroughly unconvinced look. "well, either way, you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does...you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

"Welp! He's convinced me!" Laurel said, turning on their heel and heading down the road. Their siblings shrugged and followed suit, all seven of them heading out of the snowy clearing.

"actually, hey..." sans stopped the kids right before they left the clearing. "hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is," Robin said, turning back around to face sans.

"i was thinking...my brother's been kind of down lately..." sans said. "he's never seen a human before. and seeing all of you guys might just make his day."

"That sounds awesome!" Hop sprang forward. "Your brother seems so nice and I think we'd be great friends if we met!" 

"Hop, uh, have you forgotten the whole 'human-hunting fanatic' thing?" Bell asked. 

"No!" Hop scoffed, then blushed and looked to the side. "I just don't know what it means exactly." 

"don't worry," sans said. "he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be."

"I don't know..." Robin trailed off, looking to their siblings for consensus. 

"Rob, come on, why not?" Alex shrugged. "If a skeleton says it's cool, I'm inclined to believe him." 

"And if a skeleton told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" Robin countered. 

"Maybe I would, smart guy." 

"Jeez, would you two put a sock in it?" Bell scowled. 

"i could help ya out in that department," Sans said. "i've started a bit of a sock collection myself." 

"Back to the matter at hand," Laurel bit out through clenched teeth. "I don't know if I feel comfortable with this."

"Come on, Laurel, what could possibly go wrong?" Bell asked, throwing an arm around their best friend's shoulder. 

"You want that list alphabetically or in order of probability?" Laurel retorted.

"Well, I think we should do it!" Hop interjected. 

"Okay, so, we've got three for it and one against," Robin tapped a finger to their chin and turned to look at Frisk who shrugged as if to say "Why not?" and gave sans a thumbs up. "Alright, four for it and one against," Robin nodded, looking down to where Twain stood close to their side. "What do you think, Twain?"

"If it will make him feel better..." Twain murmured, glancing around nervously. "I guess it's alright."

"Fine!" Laurel blurted as Twain finished speaking, throwing their hands in the air. "Fine, let's do it. But I want it noted that I was against this. If this all blows up in our faces, don't blame me." 

"Well, there you have it," Robin told sans. "We'll do it."

"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." sans said, and turned and walked in the opposite direction.

"That guy is weird," Alex shook their head. 

"I think he's cool," Hop said. 

"He did help hide us," Bell added.

"But he makes those awful puns," Laurel feigned a grimace of pain.

"So does Mom, though," Twain remarked. 

"Oh, he's alright, I guess," Robin bustled with their skirts, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "Let's just get out of this snow, please?"

"I'm right behind you," Alex said, and the group was off.

They came upon a little pass of twisting roads next. For the most part, the space was empty; except for a little wooden box up a ways with a sign posted next to it. Laurel went ahead and read the little sign aloud.

"This is a box. You can put an item in or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover." Laurel read. "Think we should look inside?"

"I don't see why not," Robin shrugged, crossing to the box and lifting up the lid. "What the hel- uh, I mean -What the heck!?" 

"What!? What is it!?" Hop exclaimed, bounding over to look inside. "WHOA!!!"

The other kids all bolted over, clamoring to see what was in the box that was so fascinating.

"What are those, Rob?" Alex asked.

"Boots," Robin said, taking out a little bundle from the box. "They're winter boots wrapped in a scarf."

"Maybe they're for you," Twain suggested.

"No, they must be someone else's," Robin shook their head.

"They have your name on them, though!" Laurel shouted, grabbing up a little tag tied to the aqua yarn of the scarf that had Robin's name printed on it in all lower-case letters.

"That's weird," Bell said. "Are you going to take them?"

"I don't know..." Robin furrowed their brow down at the mystery gift.

"Hey! Looks like there's more in here!" Alex said, reaching into the box and taking out an armful of six similar little bundles. Each of the bundles had a set of winter boots tied together with a different colored scarf and a tag that had a child's name printed on it in the same chicken scratch as Robin's tag. "Orange for me, alright!" 

"Hold on, I don't know if we should take these," Robin protested despite the numbness in their frozen feet.

"Why not?" Alex demanded. 

"Because we don't know who these are from," Robin said. "We don't know what the current gift exchange policy in the underground is like. We could be signing over our souls if we accept these!"

Alex rolled their eyes. "Well, I'll tell you what I do know," they said, grabbing one of Robin's ankles and pulling their foot into view. "You're gonna get frostbite soon if you don't warm your feet up. I don't need to stand on ceremony, I'm putting these things on. If you were smart, you would too."

Robin looked around at their siblings and sighed. "Fine," they threw their hands up. "But if we unwittingly get signed into a contract, I'm holding you responsible."

"I'll take the risk," Alex laughed, tugging their boots on and wrapping the orange scarf around their neck. Then, they distributed the packages to the other kids. "Let's see, uh, blue for Bell. Purple for Laurel. Green for Twain. Yellow for Hop. And red for Frisk."

"How come Frisk only got a scarf?" Hop asked, lacing their boots up. "Doesn't seem fair."

Frisk stuck a leg out and wiggled their foot.

"They already had boots on," Laurel observed, winding their scarf up so it covered their ears. 

"At least one of us was prepared," Robin said, pulling their boots on over their icy feet and feeling immediate warmth wash over them. "I guess you guys can put your other shoes in here."

Laurel leaned over to put their sandals in the box, and stopped in surprise. "Hey, there's one more thing in here!" 

"What is it?" Alex looked over as Laurel pulled out a big orange boxing glove. "Whoa, that is seriously cool!" 

"Here," Laurel handed the glove to Alex. "A Tough Glove for a Tough Guy."

"It's about time you got some proper gear," Robin smiled as Alex tried the glove on. "Next time you see Flowey, punch him to pieces with that thing."

"Like you read my mind," Alex grinned, pumping their now-gloved fist into the air.

"So, which way do we go?" Bell asked. 

"I'll go check what's up there," Laurel said, heading towards the upper road. "I need to mark it for my map anyways."

"Okay, be careful!" Robin called as Laurel headed off on their own. 

They came back in less than a minute, rolling their eyes. 

"Just some fishing pole with a picture and phone number attached," Laurel said. "Nothing up there but more snow and a river."

"This way it is," Robin waved the kids over to the right. The kids finished putting their shoes in the box, all except Bell who just slung their ballet slippers over their shoulder, and followed Robin into the next area.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE-"

The kids froze in their tracks, Robin stifling a gasp of fright. Right in front of them, Papyrus and sans were talking with each other. It was too late to run in the other direction, Papyrus spotted them as soon as they entered the area. 

Papyrus started and turned to look at sans and then sans to him and then back and forth and back and forth like that until both of the skeletons were spinning so fast the kids thought they would skyrocket out of the stratosphere. Finally, they both stopped and looked at the humans. Then, they turned away to have a private conversation.

"SANS!! OH MY GOD ARE THOSE HUMANS!?" Papyrus shouted. The skeletons turned back around.

"uhhhhhh...actually, i think those are rocks," sans said, looking not at the pile of kids on the road but at a nearby pile of rocks behind them.

"OH."

"hey, what are those in front of the rocks?"  sans asked with a pointed glance at the kids.

Papyrus locked eyes on the humans and gave a little jump. "OH MY GOD!!!" Papyrus shouted, and then switched to a shout-whisper. "ARE...ARE THOSE HUMANS!?"

"yes," sans whispered. 

"OH MY GOD!!! SANS I FINALLY DID IT!!! UNDYNE WILL...I'M GONNA...I'LL BE SO...POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!" Papyrus exclaimed, and then turned serious. "...AHEM. HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP ALL OF YOU!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU!!! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN..."

The kids waited in suspense to hear what would happen once they reached the capital.

"THEN!!!" Papyrus continued. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE!! CONTINUE...ONLY IF YOU DARE!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!" 

Papyrus hurried from the space, leaving only sans with the kids. 

"well, that went well." sans smiled. "and, hey, you kids finally got some proper footwear. that's good, i hear there's a blizzard a- **foot**."

"There's not even weather down here," Laurel said. 

"whoa, check out the imagination on this kid," sans said, shrugging. "eh, everyone's a critic."

"What about your brother?" Robin asked. "He said he'd capture us and send us to the capital."

"don't sweat it, kids. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya," sans winked again and walked away, leaving the kids alone on the icy road. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to SpiritusRex for the scarf idea that was so cute I immediately had to shanghai it for this fic.


	5. Dogsong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skeletons and puzzles and dogs--Oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting these kids through Snowdin Forest in this chapter if it kills me. Again, this chapter will most likely be a bit long.

"YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER...I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)" Laurel read the narration on the cardboard box, doing their best imitation of Papyrus' loud voice.

"Poor guy, I wish we could just let him catch one of us so he could get into the Royal Guard," Twain shook their head at the lopsided roof of the cardboard box. "Then again, it might be for the best he's not in it, y'know?" 

"Let's just hope he's as harmless as sans says he is," Robin said, starting to walk again. "Come on, let's keep moving." 

All of the other kids followed except Hop, who was clumping snow together in their hands. Alex noticed they were still playing as the others headed to the next area, and hung back to get them.

"Hop, we're moving on. There'll be plenty of snow along the way," Alex said. "Let's go, we don't want to get left behind."

"Alright, alright," Hop mumbled, wiping the snow off on their jeans and standing up. They took a step to join Alex, but were stopped when a monster jumped out at them. Hop shrieked and stumbled backwards, falling on the frozen ground. They felt a tug on their soul and found themself locked in a battle with Snowdrake. Unlike the battles with Toriel they'd seen, this battle didn't have a shadowy battledome blocking out others from intervening; so, Alex and Hop could still see and talk to each other. 

"Alex, what do I do!?" Hop called out. 

"Spare him!" Alex shouted from the sidelines.

Hop spared Snowdrake.

"Don't snow 'flake' out on me!" the Snowdrake said, chuckling at his own bad joke. Then, the attacks came. Icy disks flung about the air, a streak of them pelting Hop's shoulder blade. They gasped as they felt their HP lower. The attack ended.

"It's not working!" Hop yelled.

"Um...uhh...Laugh at his joke!" Alex suggested. 

"What!?"

"Just do it!" 

Hop looked up at Snowdrake and forced themself to laugh at the aggressively unfunny joke. 

"See? Laughs! Dad was wrong!" Snowdrake smiled.

Hop breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the battle would end. However, another attack spun out and this time Hop focused on not getting hit. Thankfully, they scraped out of the attack with no more damage done. Sparing Snowdrake again, the monster went away and left a little pile of gold coins in his place. 

Hop ignored the money and booked it over to Alex. Alex wrapped their younger sibling in a hug and picked them up.

"Hey, don't you want your prize money, Hop?" Alex asked, walking over to the pile of coins. 

"I guess," Hop mumbled, holding their hand out so Alex could plunk the gold into their palm.

"Alright, let's go catch up with the others, huh?" Alex said. 

"Yeah," Hop nodded, not letting go of their sibling.

The two of them made it to the next clearing, where they easily spied the rest of their family standing around a wooden sign staked in the ground. 

"Absolutely NO MOVING!!!" Laurel read aloud.

"How are we supposed to get to the other end of the road, though?" Bell asked.

"We're trapped!" Twain began to despair. "We'll never leave this spot!!"

"I'm too young to be trapped in a frozen forest, Robin!" Bell cried, grabbing for their oldest sibling's waist.

"We most certainly are not trapped," Robin sighed, patting Bell's head while they looked back down the road to spy Alex walking towards them with Hop in their arms. "There you are!" Robin sighed in relief. "I was wondering where you- Wait, Hop, are you okay? What happened?" 

"They had a little brush with a monster," Alex said. "They're okay, just a little spooked. What is going on here?" 

Robin looked around them at the panicking younger siblings and shook their head. "They think we can't move because the sign says 'No Moving'."

Alex gave Robin a long eye. "Isn't the implication of that statement that you cannot, in fact, move?"

Robin rolled their eyes and turned back to their siblings, clapping their hands to get their attention. "Alright! That's enough! We are not trapped, okay?" 

Twain blinked up at Robin, eyes full of tears. "But the sign..."

"Is just a sign," Robin said. "I'll show you that it's fine to cross."

With that, Robin turned and walked out onto the road. All was going well, until they stepped in front of the sentry station. A black and white dog wearing a spotted collar and a dog treat dangling from their mouth popped up from behind the station, squinting out at the road. Robin froze in place.

"Did something move?" the dog said. "Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things."

Robin stayed frozen in place, glancing over to where the others were gathered to the side. Alex had their hands braced out, telling them to stay still. 

"If something WAS moving...For example, a human..." the dog continued. "I"ll make sure it NEVER moves again!" 

Before getting dragged into battle, Robin managed to spy a nametag hanging off the dog's spiked collar that read "Doggo" in bold block lettering. 

"Don't move an inch!" Doggo said through their teeth. 

Robin held still as a statue, not even daring to breathe, as a bright blue blade swung down over them. To their relief, the knife went right through them, gentle as a gust of wind, with no damage. They let out a deep breath as the attack ended. They still couldn't flee and they looked to their siblings for advice.

 

"What do I do?" they muttered out of the corner of their mouth. 

"Pet him!!" Hop piped up from where they still clung to Alex's neck, the sight of the dog perking them up significantly from their previous state of distress. "Robin, you gotta pet that dog!" 

"Alright," Robin let go of a shaky breath, reaching out and patting Doggo once on the head. 

Doggo started freaking out, shouting about being pet by something that wasn't there. Robin smiled in spite of themself and heard their siblings laugh a bit at the dog's reaction. The blue blade swung out again, and Robin stood stock still again.

"S-S-S-Something pet me...S-S-S-Something that isn't moving..." Doggo said when Robin didn't do anything more. "I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!!!"

Doggo dove back down behind the sentry station. Robin picked up the coins and shoved them in their pocket. 

"Come on!" Robin ushered their siblings past the station. They hurried past and started for the end of the road.

Twain stopped when they spied something on the edge of the road. 

"Huh!? What's this?" Twain said, gesturing to some charred dog treats lying in the snow. "Did someone burn their bog treats?"

Frisk shook their head and, making sure they had Twain's attention, they mimed smoking a cigarette.

"Smoking dog treats!?" Twain raised their eyebrows so high they almost disappeared into their curly black hair. 

Frisk shrugged and motioned for Twain to come on, and the two went to catch up with the group. Wandering into the next area, the group spied a frozen lake accompanied by the now familiar skeletal grin of sans waiting for them.

"hey, here's something important to remember," sans said, talking as if he were already in the middle of a conversation. "my brother has a very special attack. if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you."

Robin sighed, thinking that would have been nice to know a few miles back down the road; before they'd had to battle Doggo.

"here's an easy way to keep it in mind. imagine a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you stop, right? stop signs are red. so imagine a blue stop sign instead." sans said. "simple, right? when fighting, think about blue stop signs."

Laurel looked up at sans after they'd scrawled the advice down in their notebook. "What's so special about your brother's attack, then? We just saw a dog use blue attacks."

"well, i'll tell ya," sans said, motioning for Laurel to lean down. When they had, sans cupped one hand near their ear and whispered "remember: blue stop signs" to Laurel. 

Laurel stood up in a hurry, giving an indignant huff. Figuring he wasn't going to be anymore help, Laurel walked away from sans and went to inspect the sign in the middle of the frozen lake. Skidding and slipping across the sleek surface, they finally reached the sign.

North: Ice  
South: Ice  
West: Ice  
East: Snowdin Town (...and ice)

Even though the directions were 3/4 useless, Laurel jotted them down anyways. Pushing off from the sign, they made it to the other side of the lake. Turning around, they saw Bell spinning and swirling around on the ice. 

"How are you doing that, Bell!?" Robin asked as they fell flat on their butt for the umpteenth time in an attempt to cross the lake. 

"Easy, it's like ballet but moving on a frozen vat of water," Bell said, gliding over to Robin. Taking their oldest sibling's hands in theirs, Bell guided Robin across the lake then went back to their makeshift skating. 

The group stayed there for a while. They watched Bell skate and let them try to teach them all how to move like they did. Hop sort of got the hang of it, but mostly just slid from one end to the other repeatedly. Twain couldn't manage it, so, Alex put them on their back and skated them across. Frisk wandered upwards and befriended a little snowman, coming back with a piece of him to carry in their pocket. Robin gave fashion advice to a Snow Cap and earned some more coins. Eventually, though, the kids had to get up and continue on their journey. 

They wandered into the next room and found Papyrus and sans bickering yet again. Or rather, Papyrus shouting at sans and sans remaining unfazed.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY!!" Papyrus was yelling. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!"

"i think that's called...sleeping," sans replied.

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Papyrus shook his head. Then, the skeletons took notice of the kids gathered on the other side of the clearing and turned towards them. "OH-HO! THE HUMANS ARRIVE! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE...QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN??? BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK. OK YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

Laurel looked at the orb in Papyrus' hand and smirked. They took a brazen step forward. 

**_ZZZZZZZTTTTTT!!_ **

The orb shocked Papyrus to a crisp. Laurel stepped back, smiling and unscathed.

"SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!

"i think one of the humans has to hold the orb."

"OH, OKAY." Papyrus took the orb and walked through the maze, his boots leaving a trail wherever he walked. "HOLD THIS PLEASE!" he popped the orb on Laurel's head and walked back. "OKAY, TRY NOW!!!"

Laurel looked down at the trail Papyrus had left and then to their siblings and then over to the two skeletons, wondering if anyone was going to say anything about the glaring problem with presenting an already solved puzzle to them. _A problem for the skeletons, maybe,_ Laurel though to themself. _An easy win for you._

"Here goes nothing," Laurel shrugged, walking forward. Following Papyrus' footprints, they again came out unscathed on the other side of the puzzle.

"INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!!" Papyrus shouted. "YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY...TOO EASILY! HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY!! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus slide backwards out of the space, leaving only the kids and sans again.

"Weren't you just by the lake?" Laurel squinted down at sans as their siblings crossed the deactivated maze. 

"probably, it's all a blur to me," sans winked, turning to the children as a group. "hey, thanks, my brother seems like he's having fun. by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing?"

"Uh, yeah," Alex said, scoffing a laugh. "It's something else." 

"we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since...keeps calling it his 'battle body.'" sans said. "man. isn't my brother cool?"

"THE COOLEST!!!" Hop agreed, imitating Papyrus' loud voice.

"heheh," sans laughed. "ok, kiddos, i think you should get moving. see you later."

The kids waved goodbye to sans and continued on their way. In the next part of the forest, there was a monster selling what he called Nice Cream. Robin took Hop to buy some while the other kids explored the area. Laurel and Bell went off to chart down what they could for Laurel's map while the other kids kicked around a huge snowball and scored goals for coins. 

Laurel and Bell came back from marking down two more dog sentry stations and bumped into sans again.

"You again!?" Laurel exclaimed. "You were just in that other spot!"

"uhhh...it's called walking, kid," sans said. "i think the cold air is getting to ya."

"It is not!!" Laurel stomped their foot in frustration.

"anyways," sans said. "wanna buy some fried snow? only 5G."

"NO!!!" Laurel shouted, angry now. They marched away, not waiting to hear sans' reply. Bell hung back for a minute to finish up talking to sans.

"they ok?" sans asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. They just don't like when they can't understand something or someone," Bell explained. "Say, how do you get from place to place so fast?"

"i know a lot of shortcuts," sans winked. 

"Yeah, okay," Bell laughed, beginning to walk away. "See ya around, sans!" 

* * *

The group continued on to the next area and encountered sans and Papyrus yet again. Laurel crossed their arms and seethed, not even bothering to ask sans how he'd gotten from the other room so quickly.

"HUMANS!!" Papyrus greeted the seven kids. "I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..."

Papyrus looked down at the ground where the supposed puzzle was. Instead, there was just a scrap of paper laying in the middle of the space.

"SANS!!!" Papyrus screeched. "WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!!!"

"it's right there. on the ground." sans pointed to the scrap of paper. "trust me. there's no way they can get past this one."

Alex felt their face quirk up as they tried to keep from smiling.

"Twain, why don't you handle this one, buddy?" Alex suggested.

"O-Okay," Twain agreed, stepping up to the scrap of paper and glancing down at it. It was just a word search. Stepping past the paper, Twain cross to the two skeletons.

"SANS!! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!" Papyrus complained.

"whoops. i knew i should have used today's crossword instead." sans shrugged.

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD!?" Papyrus spluttered. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!!! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones," sans said.

"UN. BELIEVABLE." Papyrus rolled his eye sockets. "HUMAN!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!!!"

Twain looked between the two brothers. "Uhhh...Junior Jumble?" Twain guessed, not knowing which answer was right since they'd never played either.

"HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT! IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH HEH! HEH HEH!" Papyrus grinned and walked away.

Twain looked to sans.

"thanks for saying 'junior jumble' just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope."

* * *

 "Warning: Dog Marriage" Laurel read aloud. "What?" they did a double take. "These damn glasses..." 

"Nope, not your glasses," Bell came up and read the sign as well. "You read that right. Dog Marriage. This place just gets weirder and weirder," Bell shook their head, thinking about the plate of frozen spaghetti they'd passed earlier.

"Let's go down that way," Robin pointed. "It looks like the way is blocked by something spiky thou-"

"WOOHOO!!" Hop shouted, running into a patch of powdery snow and kicking it about. "I haven't seen snow in almost three years!" 

The others watched as Hop kicked and jumped around in the snow. They were throwing a handful of it up into the air when a dog in armor suddenly appeared. Hop panicked for a second when they felt themself get pulled into another battle, but they relaxed when they saw it was just a dog. Going up to the monster named Lesser Dog, Hop began to pet it.

"Hop, be careful!" Robin called. 

"Oh, it's just a dog!" Hop called back just as something white shot up under them. Another little dog had appeared and proceeded to knock Hop off their feet, their HP taking a hit with them. Hop got to their feet and swerved to avoid the rest of the attack. Looking up at the smiling dog, Hop saw its neck had stretched a little bit, and Hop laughed and went to pet the dog again.

They kept going for a few more turns, even though Lesser Dog's name had gone yellow after their first pet. Lesser Dog's neck was stretched to the sky, and the other kids looked on in horror and amazement. 

"I think you might have a problem, Hop!" Bell called out.

"Yeah, just spare him already!" Alex added.

Hop giggled and finally spared Lesser Dog, coins plinking into the snow. They gathered their money and turned back to their family.

"Hey, what's that you're standing on?" Laurel asked, walking over to the patch of snow Hop had been standing in. "Looks like a map of the area." 

"X marks the spot," Twain pointed out a red 'X' on the map. "The spot for what, though?" 

"One way to find out," Alex said and headed up to where the 'X' was. Clearing away the snow, Alex found a switch. Flipping it, they heard a click. 

"It turned off the spikes!" Robin called out. 

"Awesome!" Alex gave a thumbs up as they came loping back to the others.

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Robin asked, gathering their siblings in front of them.

"Robin! Robin! Robin! RobinRobinRobinRobinRobin!" Hop was shouting, jumping up and down to try and get Robin's attention.

"One second, Hop," Robin held a hand up, looking around them. "Wait a minute. Where's Frisk!?" 

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Hop pointed to their left. "Frisk is getting attacked!" 

"What!?" Robin spun around, eyes locking on Frisk as they were playing fetch with two sentries. "Why didn't you tell me!?" 

Frisk had gone ahead of the others, eager to get a move on. But as they stepped into the area that had been blockaded, two more dog sentries stepped into the area.

"What's that smell?" one said.

"Where's that smell?" the other said.

"If you're a smell..."

"Identify yoursmellf!"

The two dogs wandered the area and came back to Frisk.

"Hmm...Here's that weird smell." the one said. "It makes me want to eliminate."

"...Eliminate YOU!" the other added.

 Frisk felt themself get pulled into battle. Tapping their chin for a moment, they noticed the stick in their hand. Smiling, they chucked the stick as far as they could. The two dogs went to fetch it and brought it back to Frisk. They played fetch for a while.

After playing fetch, the Dogi attacked. Two little dogs barked blue and white hearts back and forth at each other. Frisk struggled to dodge but ultimately came out only having lost a fraction of their HP. And afterwards, they could spare the two dogs and the battle ended.

"Weird smells can bring good things..." Dogamy said.

"Friendly fun fetch!" Dogaressa added.

"Thanks, weird smell!" 

"It sure was fun to 'stick' together!"

The dogs walked away, swinging their axes and wagging their tails. Frisk heard the crunch of snow to their right, and looked over to see Robin barreling towards them. Frisk barely had time to draw another breath before Robin was falling to their knees in front of them, pulling the small child into a tight hug and rocking them back and forth.

"Frisk, are you alright!?" Robin gushed, pulling back to check Frisk's battle damage. Frisk reached up and patted Robin's hand to let them know they were okay, giving them a reassuring smile. "You're sure?" 

Frisk nodded again, pointing down the road to say they were ready to get going.

"Okay, we're going," Robin stood up, keeping a hold of one of Frisk's hands. "Guys, come on!"

The other kids came running over. None of them looked as worried as Robin, and instead looked excited from watching Frisk's fight.

"Yo, dude, that was _awesome_ ," Alex grinned. "I had my doubts about that stick but-Wow! You finished that battle in two moves!"

"Yeah, imagine what you could do with a _real_ weapon!" Bell added, crouching down by Frisk.

"They don't need a real weapon if we're not going to attack anyone," Robin said. 

"What do you think's gonna happen when we get to King Asgore? He'll just let us waltz to the Barrier and leave?" Bell asked. "I'm pretty sure at least one of us will have to fight him."

"Well, that's a long way away," Robin sniffed, walking towards the next area. "And since I'm the oldest, I'll fight King Asgore if it comes to it. So, don't even worry about weapons."

"No offense, Rob, but you're not exactly the toughest cookie around, y'know," Alex said as they picked up their pace to match Robin's stride. 

"My undefeated armwrestling record begs to differ," Robin tossed Alex a challenging look over their shoulder. 

"Alright, but that's against me," Alex said. "And it's all in fun. What are you gonna do when you meet someone who wants to kill you?" 

"Been there, done that," Robin waved a dismissive hand, the sleeve of their robe falling back to reveal the lines of scars running up their arm. "I came out alright, didn't I?" 

Bell and Alex exchanged exasperated looks with each other, but figured there was nothing they could say to shake Robin's resolve. Letting the subject drop, the seven humans strode into the next area and looked around. Another puzzle awaited, and this one was actually a puzzle. Despite that though, the dynamics of the puzzle seemed almost laughably simple and before anyone could make a remark on that fact, Hop was changing the two 'X's to 'O's and hitting a switch in the snow. There came a clicking sound, and a set of spikes on the other side of the area went down.

"Like a charm," Hop winked, flashing their siblings an enormous grin and giving two thumbs up as they began to walk backwards away from the puzzle. Their victory was short-lived however, as their backwards stride brought them colliding directly with a pair of bony legs and falling flat onto their back. 

"WHAT!?" Papyrus exclaimed, reaching down and picking Hop up off the ground, holding them in front of him so the two were face-to-face. "HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?! AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???"

Hop blinked at Papyrus, blushing as they stared into the skeleton's hollow eye sockets. "Uhhhh...."

"What trap?" Alex whispered down to Bell.

"I think he means that frozen spaghetti we passed," Bell whispered back, remembering the pathetic plate of noodles and sauce next to an unplugged microwave.

"Uhh, we..." Robin faltered, not knowing how best to respond. Their attention was diverted to the fact that one of their youngest siblings was being held aloft as if they weighed nothing by a monster who consistently declared his desire to capture humans and take them to King Asgore.

"We ate it!" Twain piped up, beaming at Papyrus.

"REALLY!?" Papyrus beamed right back. "WOWIE...NO ONE'S EVER ENJOYED MY COOKING BEFORE..."

"Well, we did!" Twain smiled, lying through their teeth. "You're a really great cook, Papyrus!"

"WELL THEN!" Papyrus drew his shoulders up. "FRET NOT HUMANS! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!"

Papyrus laughed and turned to leave, but paused when he realized that he still had Hop in his hands. "WAIT A SECOND..." he peered at the child in his hands and turned back around. 

"Here it comes," Laurel pressed a hand to their forehead. "We're dead." 

"HERE YOU GO, YOUNG HUMAN!" Papyrus said, setting Hop down on their feet and giving them a little shove towards the others. "BE SURE TO STICK WITH YOUR FRIENDS SO I CAN CAPTURE YOU ALL! WELL, TOODLE-OO!" he called as he bolted from the area, cackling triumphantly.

"Well, aren't you just a little liar?" Alex turned on Twain instantly, poking them in the belly. "The underground has made you hardcore! Where did my sweet little Twain go?"

"Shut up," Twain laughed, pushing Alex's hands away with a goodnatured smack. "Sometimes the nicest thing you can do is lie."

Alex gave a low whistle, reaching out and rubbing Twain's fluffy black afro of hair. "When did you get so smart, huh?"

Twain shrugged as the group began walking to the next area. Hop had run ahead when they spied Papyrus in the distance. With an audience, he began babbling away about how sans had started a sock collection; it made Robin think of their mother and they walked away.The rest of the kids followed Robin to yet another puzzle. This one had tons more 'X's to be turned into 'O's and Papyrus was explaining something about you could only touch them once or you would fail the puzzle.

Laurel pushed up their glasses and looked at the shape of the puzzle, sketching it out in their notebook. Drawing a line through the scribbly 'X's, they figured out a way to make it through without touching an 'X' more than once. Stepping forward, Laurel began walking through the 'X's, hearing them click into 'O's where they stepped. Making it through without hitting any 'X's twice, Laurel stepped onto the switch and watched the 'O's light up green.

"WOW!!! YOU SOLVED IT!! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP!!" Papyrus exclaimed with great admiration. "INCREDIBLE!! I'M IMPRESSED!! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO!! WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN!!! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!! NYEH!! HEH HEH!! HEHEHEHEH!!!"

Papyrus walked away then, and the group walked around the puzzle and past where the spikes had been prior to Laurel solving them puzzle. On the other side, sans was standing by himself as if waiting for the kids to arrive. 

"good job on solving it so quickly," sans said to Laurel. "you didn't even need my help. which is great, 'cause i love doing absolutely nothing."

Laurel pursed their lips and pondered sans for a moment. "Well," they shrugged. "Guess I'll see you in the next room."

With that, Laurel took the lead and walked to the next space. Sure enough, sans was standing there next to his brother. Laurel pretended not to notice sans' inexplicable teleportation this time, but Bell noticed from the set of their jaw that Laurel was biting the inside of their cheek to keep from screaming.

"HEY!" Papyrus hollered. "IT'S THE HUMANS!!

"Hey, Papyrus! Hi, Sans!" Hop waved, bouncing excitedly on their toes at the sight of the two skeleton brothers. 

"hey, kiddo," Sans stuck a bony hand out of his hoodie pocket and waved at Hop. 

"YES, HELLO TO YOU!" Papyrus gave an emphatic wave. "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE!!! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS. YOU SEE THESE TILES!?" he gestured to a spray of square tiles set up on the frozen ground. "ONCE I THROW THE SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION! RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU!! GREEN TILES..."

Bell leaned over to whisper in their sibling's ear. "Laurel, you getting this down?"

"Uhm, well, I'm trying," Laurel said as their pen flew across the pages of their notebook. "Trying and failing, but trying nonetheless."

"...FINALLY, PINK TILES! THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE." Papyrus concluded. "HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND???"

Exchanging confused glances, the seven humans seemed to silently agree that even if Papyrus did explain the rules again, none of them would understand anymore than they did at that current moment.

"Of course!" Robin replied, bracing for the disaster that the puzzle would bring on.

"GREAT!!! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING. THIS PUZZLE IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!!!!!" Papyrus announced. "WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION. NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY!!!" 

Papyrus pulled the switch on the little box and the grayscale tiles lit up and began flashing different colors; faster and faster until all of the tiles were bleeding together. There was a whirring noise and then the tiles stopped and Papyrus spun out of the room.

The kids gaped down at the puzzle like it was a joke, because it surely must have been. There was no way the machine had randomly generated a pink strip of tiles edged by red straight across the area. Shaking their heads, the group proceeded to cross the expanse to where sans stood on the other side. Again, when the kids looked to him, sans spoke as if they were already in the midst of a conversation.

"actually, that spaghetti from earlier..." sans began. "it wasn't too bad for my brother. since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible."

* * *

The group continued on, passing through an area made up entirely of half-completed snowdogs that a blasé monster explained were all crafted in a frenzy by an impassioned white dog. They came to another XO puzzle, this time on a frozen lake. Laurel sketched the pattern once again, but instead of doing it themself handed the paper to Bell and let them complete it. As they glided over the 'X's smoothly, Laurel took a peek at what was down beyond the frozen stretch of water. They found a set of statues that they supposed were meant to be the skeleton brothers. The one looked very much like Papyrus, but the one next to it was just a lump of snow with sans' named scrawled on it in red marker.

When they returned to the lake, Bell had successfully completed the puzzle and was helping their siblings glide across without falling off the edges. They came over to Laurel last and took them across to where the seven children passed through a dark tunnel of trees, each one coming out on the other end with a little pile of snow of small ice sculpture on their head.  

"Hey, let's go check out down here before we move on," Laurel said, stepping to the right.

Frisk tugged impatiently on Robin's skirt, pointing towards the east where Snowdin Town was. 

"Tell you what," Robin said. "You and Bell go take a quick look, meet us in the next area."

"Okay," Laurel nodded, joining hands with Bell. 

"If anything goes wrong, call me," Robin said.

"Yep!" Bell waved, already one foot into the next area.

"I mean it!" Robin said. "If you're not back in the next twenty minutes I'm coming after you!"

"Alright, alright!" Bell rolled their eyes. "We'll call you if something bad happens. But nothing is gonna happen, okay?"

"If you say so," Robin rolled their eyes right back. "Be careful."

"We will," Laurel and Bell replied in unison, heading off together.

The two of them walked down the icy path into the shaded area of the cavern, and Laurel felt a bit of their soul die as a familiar deep voice spoke out at them.

"what's up?" 

Laurel stifled a groan as Bell and they came face-to-face with sans first thing stepping into the new area.

"Nothing," Bell replied, much more at ease with the skeleton than Laurel was. 

The two walked a little ways up the path and, much to Laurel's frustration, ran into Sans again.

"say...are you following me?"

"How do you _do_ that!?" Laurel demanded, cheeks flushed with exasperation.

"guess i'm just naturally talented," sans shrugged. 

Laurel blanched at how nonchalant the diminutive skeleton was and was about to go off, when Bell pushed them away. 

"Hey, let's go check out this other place, huh?" Bell suggested.

"Hmmph, alright. But I still don't understand why-ahh-" Laurel got cut off as they were suddenly jerked into a battle with a monster absolutely decked in junk.

"Gyftrot," Laurel checked the monster's stats. "Some teens 'decorated' it as a prank."

"Hoohoo! Go ahead and laugh..." Gyftrot dared Laurel, starting up their first attack.

Three gift-wrapped boxes lined up in front of them. The boxes shuffled themselves and, as they lined up, one turned light blue. Thinking fast, Laurel just stepped in between the boxes as they flew at them, and avoided any damage. The attack ended.

"Here," Laurel reached up and removed a childhood photo of the monster Snowdrake and his parent. 

"That's a little better," Gyftrot said before sending out their next attack. This time, little circular pellets flung at Laurel from above. They dodged as best they could but still ended up losing a bit of their HP.

For two more turns, Laurel removed decorations from Gyftrot. After the third decoration was removed, Gyftrot was ready to end the battle. Laurel spared them and came out of the battle relatively uninjured.

"Are you alright!?" Bell asked, going to their friend. 

"Oh yeah," Laurel waved off the concern. "Let's go check this other area out before we go back."

Walking to the edge of a drop-off, Laurel and Bell turned into a dark cavern with a glassy blue flooring. At the end of the long narrow stretch of glass stood a door. Reaching the door, Laurel tried to pull it open but found it locked. Bell tried to pick the lock with their bobby pin, but didn't make any appreciable progress. The two of them tried everything they could think of, but the door remained unopened.

"This sucks," Laurel grumbled, kicking at one of the mushrooms on the ground. The mushroom gave a squeak and its light went out; Laurel felt bad and gave it another, gentler kick so its lights would squeak back on again.

"I know," Bell said. "Let's go back. The last thing we need is Robin coming after us like they're Mom."

"Closest thing we've got anymore," Laurel crossed their arms, looking away from Bell.

"Hey, are you alright?" Bell asked, placing a hand on their best friend's shoulder.

"I'm fine, I just..." Laurel pressed a hand to their face, pushing their glasses up so they could wipe at their eyes. "This place is so big. I mean, in general terms, it's probably really small. But compared to where we've been the past seven years..."

"I know," Bell nodded, placing an arm across Laurel's back. "It's a lot to get used to."

"Yeah, but it's more than that," Laurel sighed. "Back home I know where everything is and what everything does. Out here I'm just stumbling around trying to figure this whole underground out and I haven't even gotten out of this forest yet!! I mean, a freakin' skeleton half my size has just about put me over the edge already and we've barely been out here for eight hours yet! I guess what I'm trying to say is: I don't feel safe out here, and that scares me. I miss Mom. I miss home."

"I do too," Bell rubbed Laurel's shoulder, trying to warm them up and comfort them at the same time. "But we couldn't stay there forever, right? Just like monsters shouldn't be trapped in one place, neither should we."

"I guess," Laurel sighed.

"It'll all turn out okay in the end, I promise," Bell smiled. "You and me are going to figure this place out together."

Laurel finally cracked a smile. "Yeah."

Bell patted them on the back and took their hand. "Come on, let's go catch up." 

* * *

Hop struggled to breathe under the crushing weight of Greater Dog; but apparently they hadn't pet the dog enough, because the attacks kept coming left and right. Taking their next turn, Hop pet decisively. Greater Dog finally seemed satisfied and rolled over with its legs in the air. One more attack swept over Hop, and then Greater Dog was ready to be spared. Dropping 40G at Hop's feet, Greater Dog jumped down from its armor and licked the child's face. Hop laughed and was kind of upset to see Greater Dog march away.

"Jeez, Hop, how much gold have you gotten today!?" Alex whistled. 

"I don't know," Hop said, pocketing the gold. "Do you want some?"

"Nah, I'm good," Alex assured them. "Just wondering when I'm gonna get to battle some monsters."

"Not as fun as it looks," Robin remarked, striding past them. "Where are Laurel and Bell?"

"Right there!" Twain pointed at the other end of the area to where Bell and Laurel were sauntering over hand-in-hand.

"So, did you guys find anything cool?" Robin asked.

"Nope," Bell shook their head. "Just some old door that wouldn't open. Let's get going, we're ready to get out of this damn forest."

"Understood," Robin nodded, heading forward. "Come on, gang!"

The group traveled to the next area and found themselves on a huge bridge. Actually, it wasn't really a bridge; it was just a stretch of rock painted to look like a bridge. Crossing the rock-bridge, the kids once again found themselves standing across from the two skeleton brothers.

"HUMANS! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!!" Papyrus announced. "BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

Closing in from all sides were weapons of various assortment and one dog. Robin pushed their younger siblings behind them and prepared to bear the brunt of whatever this attack would bring.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ARE YOU READY? BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!"

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror remained stationery.

"well?" sans spoke at last. "what's the holdup?"

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!?!? I'M...I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!!"

Still no appreciable movement from the gauntlet.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated."

"WELL!!! THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS...MAYBE..." Papyrus grasped for the right words. "...TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMANS WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror lifted away.

"PHEW," Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he noticed the looks he was getting from the humans. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!! NYEH!! HEH!!...HEH???"

Papyrus hurried from the scene, and the kids crossed the rest of the bridge in peace. They turned to sans, once they reached the other side, for an explanation; but sans only shrugged.

"i don't know what my brother's going to do now," sans admitted. "if i were you, i would make sure i understood blue attacks."

The kids nodded, even though they had already been over the fact that they did understand blue attacks, and continued on their way. 

Stepping into the next area, the entire atmosphere changed. A brightly lit sign welcomed the kids to the new area they'd entered. Little shops and houses lined the sides of the road, and a decorated pine tree stood in the middle of the town. And, most of all, there were other people milling about. Not human people, monster people; but they were people nonetheless.

"Finally," Robin sighed. "We made it to Snowdin Town."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //looks into the sky// / I thought I would never get out of Snowdin Forest. 
> 
> But yeah!! We made it!!! Hopefully next chapter can be a tad bit shorter.


	6. Snowdin Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter after that seemingly endless journey through Snowdin Forest. Just the kids having a good time in Snowdin Town!!

"HELLOOOOOOOO SNOWDIN TOWN!!!" Hop shouted, waving at the cheerful little village from where they stood at the entrance. Jumping up and down, Hop geared up to run full throttle into the new area; but Robin caught their arm as soon as they began to bolt forward, pulling them back.

"Hold on," Robin said, turning all of their siblings' attention on them. "I know it's exciting to be here and you all want to go off on your own, but remember that this is an unfamiliar area and it's easy to get lost."

"But it's only one road!" Hop whined.

"Let me finish," Robin held up a finger to ask for a minute. "I don't want any of you going anywhere alone, alright? But, if you would like to go explore for a little bit with a partner, I would be fine with it. Just make sure you have your cell phones and don't leave Snowdin Town. Understood?"

"Understood!" the younger children agreed.

"We're partners!" Bell announced, taking Laurel's hand. 

"And no one is surprised!" Alex said.

Bell stuck their tongue out at Alex before getting dragged away by Laurel, who was making a beeline for the library.

"I'm staying with Robin!" Twain said, hugging their arms around Robin's waist.

"Then I'm going with Frisk!" Hop said, turning to Frisk. "How about it, partner?"

Frisk nodded and the two took off towards the decorated pine tree. Robin and Alex exchanged a look and then nodded at each other, coming to a silent agreement.

"Hey Frisk! Hop! Wait for me!" Alex called out, chasing after the two youngest kids.

"Welp," Robin put an arm around Twain. "Guess it's just you and me for now. How about we go look in that shop and warm up?"

Twain nodded and, taking Robin's hand, headed over to the Shop with them.

* * *

Laurel and Bell stepped into the library, and before Laurel could get a word out of their mouth they were cut off by the librarian.

"Welcome to the library. Yes, we know. The sign is misspelled," the librarian said.

Laurel bit their lip and blushed. That was exactly what they were about to say. 

"Hey, Laurel, check this out!" Bell beckoned, holding up an old school report about monster funerals. "Might be something in this you wanna write down."

Laurel took the report in their hands and began poring over it. While Laurel scribbled down notes, Bell went over to the only table in the library where three monsters seemed to be working on the next edition of the newspaper.

"I love working on the newspaper," one monster, who looked a bit like a yellow rhinoceros, said when they noticed Bell hovering near the table. "There's so little to report that we just fill it with comics and games."

"Yeah," another, cat-looking monster added with a cough. "When I was younger, my teachers gave me word searches when they ran out of assignments. I thought they were a waste of time. But look at me now...I'm the number-one word-search creator in the entire underground!"

Bell thought back to that word search sans had used in place of a puzzle, but didn't mention that it was so frustratingly mangled even Robin didn't have the patience to sit down and solve it.

"Bell! Listen to this!" Laurel said, holding up an orange book. "'Because they are made of magic, monsters' bodies are attuned to their soul. If a monster doesn't want to fight, it's defenses will weaken. And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us...'"

"What else does it say?" Bell asked, walking over to their sibling's side.

"It says, 'Therefore, if a being with a powerful soul struck with the desire to kill...'" Laurel read. "And it just sort of ends there."

"Hmm," Bell popped their hands on their hips. "I guess, uh, I guess Robin was right about not needing weapons, huh? If we can just talk a monster down, why attack?"

"Yep, looks like Robin was right," Laurel said, replacing the book on the shelf.

"Hate when that happens," Bell shook their head and went to leave the library, getting stopped by the third monster at the table they hadn't talked to.

"That look in your eye..." the monster, who was all eye and a mouth, looked Bell up and down as if making a psychic prediction. "You're someone that has difficulty solving Junior Jumble, aren't you?"

Bell's jaw dropped to the floor, insulted at the question as they recalled Junior Jumble being described as "easy peasy" and "for baby bones".

"Okay, I'm leaving!" Bell announced, heading for the door. Behind them, they could hear Laurel giggling.

"That funny, huh?" Bell turned around, but Laurel couldn't stop laughing. "Laurel, oh my God, it wasn't that funny!"

"I'm s-s-sorry," Laurel laughed, pushing their glasses up so they could wipe the tears from their eyes. "It really isn't! But...y-your face!"

"Shut up!" Bell said, laughing too now. "I'm really leaving! I've been insulted!" 

Laurel reached forward and grabbed onto Bell, laughing even harder. Bell started laughing just as hard and together the two ended up in a giggling heap on the library floor.

* * *

"Awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating it's tree-like horns," a bear-looking monster was telling Alex. "So we started giving that monster presents to make it feel better. Now it's a tradition to put presents under a decorated tree."

Alex nodded along, making a mental note of the story so they could tell Laurel later for their notes. Looking to their right, they saw Frisk and Hop were still reading all of the tags on the presents under the tree.

"Yo!" a little yellow monster kid came up to Frisk and Hop when they wandered to the other side of the tree. "You guys are kids too, right? I can tell 'cause you're wearing striped shirts!" 

"Yeah, we just came from Home!" Hop said in their loud voice.

"Home? You mean like the place monsters first lived in the underground? No one's been there in, like, decades," Monster Kid said.

"They mean 'home' as in, we just came from _our_ home to visit Snowdin," Alex stepped in, laughing nervously.

"Oh! So, where do you live then?" Monster Kid asked.

"Um..Uhh..." Alex scratched the back of their head, trying to remember the names of the locations in the underground. Toriel had taught them all a long time ago, but Alex wasn't sure of the names anymore. "Waterfall...?"

"Ohhhhh! Okay!" Monster Kid nodded; but then cocked their head to the side. "But you guys don't look like aquatic monsters? What kind of-"

"You know, uh, it's very rude to ask about someone's appearance and we have to go," Alex said in a rush, blushing bright red. Taking Frisk and Hop's hands, they hurried away from Monster Kid.

"Phew," Alex breathed. "That was a close call."

"I wanna go back and talk to that monster some more, they're cool!" Hop said.

"You know what else is cool? Not letting people know we're human," Alex said. "Who knows what a monster would do if they knew there were seven human souls right under their noses?"

"You're paranoid," Hop waved their hands as if shooing away Alex's bad vibes. "Saying every monster wants to kill us is like saying every human likes snail pie."

"How?" Alex wrinkled their eyebrows.

"Well, I hate snail pie!" Hop said. "Boom! Statement disproved."

"Okay Hop, you win," Alex crossed their arms. "Let's just go inside somewhere, okay? I'm freezing to death out here."

"How about in there?" Hop pointed to a nearby building with warm yellow light pouring from the windows.

"Grillby's?" Alex read the sign. "Well, that place sounds as good as any. Let's check it out."

* * *

"Hello?" Robin called, stepping into the Shop with Twain.

"Hello, travelers," the bunny monster at the counter greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Um, well, hello!" Robin smiled, walking up to the counter.

"Hiya! Welcome to Snowdin!" the Shopkeeper greeted, eyeing Robin and Twain. "I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh face around here! Especially not one dressed so elegantly! You look like you came straight out of the capital in that robe. Say, where did you come from? You two don't look like tourists."

"Uhhh..." Robin and Twain exchanged a nervous look. "We're, uh, reporters? From the capital city? Doing a piece on all the towns in the underground! Um, so tell us, what's there to do in Snowdin?"

"You want to know what to do here in Snowdin?" the Shopkeeper raised her eyebrows. "Grillby's has food, and the library has information...If you're tired, you can take a nap at the inn. It's right next door - my sister runs it. And if you're bored, you can sit outside and watch those wacky skeletons do their thing."

"Skeletons?" Twain asked, perking up at the mention of something familiar.

"There's two of 'em. Brothers, I think," the Shopkeeper continued. "They just showed up one day and...asserted themselves. The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then."

"I bet," Robin smirked, remembering the bickering brothers and their wild antics. "Hmm, what is it Twain?" Robin looked down when Twain started tugging on their skirt.

Twain pointed something out in the shop, a tray of cinnamon buns all shaped like bunnies. 

"What's that?" the Shopkeeper twitched an ear forward.

"Oh, they were just wondering how much for a Cinnamon Bun?" Robin asked, reading off the label on the tray.

"25G. It's my own recipe," the Shopkeeper said proudly. "Will you take one?"

"I don't have any money," Twain shook their head.

"I'll pay for it," Robin said, taking out the money and handing it to the Shopkeeper.

"Robin, you don't have to."

"No, but I _want_ to," Robin said, handing the pastry to Twain. 

"Thanks for your purchase," the Shopkeeper said.

"You're welcome," Robin smiled. "We'd best be going. Nice talking to you!"

"Bye now!" the Shopkeeper said. "Come again sometime!"

Robin and Twain turned to go out the door and crashed into Laurel and Bell as they walked in. Their cheeks were flushed from the cold, but they had been holding on to each other laughing.

"Oh, hey guys!" Laurel said, still bubbling with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Robin smiled down at their two siblings.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Bell insisted, clapping a hand over Laurel's mouth as they began to recount their escapade in the library. As they attempted to keep their hand over Laurel's mouth though, an unsettled grimace passed over Bell's face and they pulled their hand away, revealing it to be covered in Laurel's spit. "You licked me!?" 

"Bell got told they looked like someone who had trouble with Junior Jumble," Laurel blurted out, starting a whole new bought of laughter.

"Shh!" Bell pressed a hand to Laurel's face, jokingly trying to cover their mouth again. "We must not speak of that!" 

"Get off!" Laurel laughed, pushing Bell's hands away. "I will lick you again, Bell, don't force my hand!" 

"Yeah, yeah," Bell laughed, straightening up and turning towards Robin and Twain. "So, were you guys headed out?"

"Yeah," Robin said. "Actually, I was thinking of going to look for you all."

"Found us!" Bell said, striking a pose.

"I think Alex, Hop, and Frisk are all at Grillby's," Laurel said. "If you want to wait for us, we can all go over there together. We shouldn't be too long."

"Sure," Robin nodded, taking a seat on a bench by the door.

Laurel opened their notebook and set it down on the countertop. "Hi, ma'am. Could you tell me a bit about this town's history, please?"

Robin and Twain exchanged a look and settled in for the long haul as Laurel began scrawling down notes while the Shopkeeper spoke. 

* * *

"Bye, Doggo! Bye, Greater Dog! Bye, Lesser Dog! Bye Dogamy! Bye Dogaressa!" Hop called to the section of Grillby's populated by dog sentries as they neared the exit.

Alex stood by the open door, carrying a sleeping Frisk on their back. "Hop, come on, you act like you haven't seen a dog in-"

"Three years?" Hop turned around, lifting their eyebrows in silent triumph.

"Fair enough," Alex nodded. "But we've gotta go meet up with the others or Robin's going to have an aneurysm."

"Hey, Alex!" a voice called from afar. 

Alex poked their head out the door and saw Robin and the other kids coming towards them. "Hey!" Alex waved back so they knew they'd seen them. "Hop, they're here; it's time to go."

"Mm okay," Hop grumbled, arm still half-raised to wave goodbye to the patrons. "Bye Grillby!" they called out then finally turned and left with Alex.

The two groups met up back in front of the library and became one big group again. Hop was jumping with excitement, telling Twain all about Grillby's and all of the cool monsters they'd met.

"Yeah, Hop befriended every single dog sentry that attacked us in Snowdin Forest," Alex said to Robin. "They were in there petting the Dog Guard for so long Frisk fell asleep."

"Sounds pretty similar to us," Robin said, gesturing to themself, Twain, and Bell. "Laurel was talking to the bunny who runs the Shop for so long, I thought about heading over to the Inn to lay down."

"Some things you just can't find in books," Laurel butted in, flipping over their notes. "Besides, it wasn't all talking. I bought some of those Bisicles, too."

Frisk rubbed their eyes awake at the sudden sound of familiar voices. They tapped Alex's shoulders to be let down and crunched into the snow.

"Well, Frisk, ready to leave Snowdin?" Robin asked. Frisk nodded. "Alright, then, let's head out!" 

The kids marched through the snow to the edge of town. Crossing into the next area, they found themselves in an icy fog. The fog was so thick, none of them could see where they were going and quickly lost track of each other. Their shouts echoed off the cavern walks and got mangled in the churning river, making them even more confused.

Twain had lost hold of Robin's hand and was now stumbling blindly through the frigid haze, waving their arms this way and that to try and feel anything that would indicate their location. But there was nothing to grasp at except the wisps of winter air swirling around them and nothing to listen for except the calls of their other siblings, which had grown so cacophonous that Twain could hardly discern one voice from the other anymore. 

Up ahead, Twain could just make out the silhouette of a tall figure. Thinking it might be Alex, Twain hurried towards the silhouette before it had a chance to get lost in the fog again. But as they drew nearer to the figure hidden by the frost, Twain halted and realized that the person before them couldn't be Alex or any of their siblings for that matter. Because for as much as the fog had obscured their vision, Twain still had enough clarity to realize that the figure pulling into view in front of them had no skin whatsoever and was nothing but a skeleton. 

Shivering in their boots that now felt like the only protection they had from certain death, Twain brandished their frying pan and took a gulp of frigid air. They stood completely alone in front of the human-hunting fanatic who had been trying to catch them since the outset of their journey. The Great Papyrus stepped forward and looked down at Twain, the expression on his face shrouded by the fog. 

"HUMAN," Papyrus began. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS..." 

"Wh-What kind of feelings, Papyrus?" Twain asked, beginning to back away from the towering skeleton.

"FEELINGS LIKE...THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER," Papyrus heaved a sigh and turned his gaze to the side. "THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS...THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!"

"Well-!" Twain raised their eyebrows, and looked around in the hopes that their siblings might burst forward at any moment and help them out of this situation. "Not exactly what I'm feeling right now, but sure! Sure, let's go with that." 

"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE," Papyrus declared, turning a sympathetic look towards Twain."I PITY YOU...LONELY HUMAN..."

"Uhm...Thank you...?" Twain said, trying to back up another step but tripping over their feet and toppling backwards into the frozen snow.

"WORRY NOT!!!" Papyrus waved his hands as he rushed forward and helped Twain to their feet. "YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!"

"Oh?" Twain asked, brushing the snow off their clothes as Papyrus stood back up to his full height. 

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..." But Papyrus trailed off suddenly, making a strained noise in the back of his throat and stamping his foot. "...NO...NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!! YOU ARE A HUMAN!"

Twain nodded, shivering violently now and unable to distinguish whether it was from the cold or from their own fear. "I understand how that might put a damper on our relationship." 

"I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!!" Papyrus said, holding up a determined fist to the sky. "POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

With that, Papyrus brought his arm down in a great sweeping motion towards the human child in front of him, yanking Twain into battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, idk just a quick thank you to anyone who's reading this!! It really means a lot to me that ppl actually took the time to read my writing. So, thanks <3333


	7. Bonetrousle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle Against The Great Papyrus!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so initially this was just going to wrap the battle and the sans and Papyrus hangouts into one chapter, but the Papyrus battle got so long I decided I'll just split it up into two chapters for brevity's sake.

Robin groped through the icy fog, trying to find their bearings and locate their siblings. Groaning in frustration, they turned around to try heading the other way and hit a brick wall. No, not a wall. Walls don't complain when you bump into them like they're about to die.

"Ow! Jeez, Robin! Look where you're going!!" Alex whined, rubbing their back where Robin had bumped into them. "Think there's a chiropractor around here?"

"Alex, you're fine," Robin sighed, turning their sibling around to face them. "We need to find- Oof!"

Someone bumped into Robin's side and nearly toppled them into the icy river. Robin and Alex looked over to see Frisk blinking up at them.

"Frisk," Robin smiled. "Okay, now where are the rest of-"

"WE'RE GONNA DIE IN HERE!!!!" a voice yelled about two feet away from Alex.

"Found Hop," Alex winced at the loud shriek. "Hop! Come over here!"

There was the sound of tiny feet pattering towards them and then Hop was there, jumping up on Alex and hugging them like they were about to float away. 

"Ahhh, I was _so_ scared," Hop buried their face in Alex's stomach. 

"You're alright, "Alex smiled and patted Hop's back. "Now where is everyone el-"

"You know," Bell stepped into view, Laurel at their side. "If there _were_ any monsters around, this fog wouldn't even be an issue with you loudmouths shouting to the high heavens over here. It took us all of two minutes to find you."

Robin ignored the 'loudmouth' comment for the time being, looking around at the group. "Okay, all who's missing is Twain. Did any of you see them?"

"If we had, we would've brought them with us," Bell said, rolling their eyes.

Robin wrinkled their nose at the sarcastic statement. "Bell, this isn't the time for your-Wait, what's that noise?"

All of the kids stopped talking and listened. There was a voice coming from up the road, much too loud to be Twain's.

"HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS."

"Oh no," Laurel's eyes widened beneath their glasses. 

"FEELINGS LIKE...THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER."

"Tw-" Hop began to shout, but Alex's hand came down over their mouth.

"You want him to catch you too?" Alex whispered.

"THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS."

"Everyone join hands, make a chain," Robin ordered, grabbing Bell's hand.

"Uh, I'm not a baby," Bell protested. 

"Really? Because the way you're reacting to having your hand held is proving otherwise," Robin snapped.

"THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL."

"Rob, do you have any idea where you're going?" Alex called from the back of the hand-holding line.

"I'm following the screaming skeleton!" Robin gestured to the vague swirls of mist before them. "We have to find them, eventually."

"Eventually might be too late!" Laurel said from between Hop and Frisk. 

"THESE FEELINGS...THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!"

"Oh man, is this guy for real!?" Bell scoffed as they listened to Papyrus' monologue. 

"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE."

"This is just sad," Alex shook their head.

"I PITY YOU...LONELY HUMAN...WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!"

"Does he not remember Twain literally has six people with them at all times?" Laurel furrowed their brow.

"Sh," Robin hushed Laurel. "What is he doing?"

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..."

Hop gasped as they caught on to what Papyrus was saying. "That's not fair!! I want to be Papyrus' friend too! How c-"

"...NO...NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!! YOU ARE A HUMAN!"

"Thank God," Hop breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hop!" Alex hissed. "This means Papyrus is going to-"

"NOOOOOO!!!!" Hop shouted, realizing what Papyrus was about to do before Alex could finish their sentence.

"I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!!"

"I think I see them," Robin squinted up ahead at two shadowy blobs inking up the white haze.

"POWERFUL!"

"Yep, that's them," Laurel agreed, wincing at the increasing volume of Papyrus' voice. 

"POPULAR!" 

"Someone should step in," Alex suggested. "I'll go."

"PRESTIGIOUS!!!" 

"No!" Robin refused, stopping in their tracks. "Mom left me in charge!!"

"THAT'S PAPYRUS!!!"

"Oh, she did not!!" Alex argued.

"You _begged_ me to come! I'm the one who takes care of you, remember!?" Robin spat back.

"Guys..." Laurel said.

"THE NEWEST MEMBER..."

"What!?" Alex and Robin snapped, still fuming at each other.

" _Someone_ get over there!" Bell suggested, gesturing to Twain and Papyrus' silhouettes.

"OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" 

There was a warping noise, and the battle began. The other kids rushed forward, trying to reach Twain before any damage could be dealt. From the looks of it, Twain had already spared Papyrus as their first move.

"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT..." Papyrus' voice carried over to the other kids. "THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK'!"

"Twain!" Robin shouted, bolting over just as the attack began. They threw their arms wide in front of their sibling and shut their eyes, preparing for the pain of the attack. But when no pain came, they peeked their eyes open and saw light blue bones phasing through them and Twain's motionless bodies. 

"Blue attacks," Robin laughed, worry melting off of their back like snow in the Springtime. 

But then, something heavy tugged on Robin and Twain's chests and it was all they could do to keep themselves dragged up off of the ground. A white bone came hurling at them from the left and slammed them both to the ground, taking chunks of their HPs with them. 

"YOU'RE BOTH BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!!!" Papyrus announced. 

Twain and Robin both looked at each other and then back up to Papyrus. Struggling to their feet, they heard their siblings calling out instructions from the sidelines.

"Jump!" and "OH MY GOD!! JUMP!!!" were popular moves that Bell kept shouting out as the battle persisted, but it was too difficult for the two siblings to dodge all of the attacks and they both fell to their knees in defeat after one round. 

"YOU'RE TOO WEAK!!!" Papyrus declared as the two humans winced up at him. "I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU!!! I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE!!! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT...OUR GARAGE??? YOU TWO ARE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!" 

The battle ended and Robin and Twain both passed out in the snow, too weak from losing so much HP. Papyrus picked them both up and slung one over each shoulder, heading out of the mist.

"Hey!" Bell shouted, taking off their boot and chucking it at Papyrus' head. Taking off their other boot, Bell began lacing up their ballet slippers. "Try battling me instead, bonehead!!" 

"HUH!?!?" Papyrus turned towards Bell. "YOU WISH TO BATTLE ME EVEN AFTER SEEING HOW EASILY YOUR FRIENDS WERE DEFEATED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS???"

"That's right!" Bell jabbed a finger up at Papyrus, trying to look imposing even though they were only the fourth tallest sibling by a couple of inches they had over Twain. "Put my siblings down and fight me!!"

"WOWIE...YOU REALLY WANT TO BATTLE ME SO BADLY??" Papyrus blushed, despite not having blood or skin or anything that would allow him to feasibly blush. "VERY WELL, HUMAN, LET US BATTLE AT ONCE!!"

Walking over to Alex, Papyrus gently set Robin and Twain into their arms.

"HOLD THESE FOR ME, PLEASE!" Papyrus said, and walked back to where Bell was waiting to battle.

"WELL, HUMAN, ARE YOU READY TO TASTE DEFEAT??" Papyrus asked, assuming his battle stance.

"Are you!?" Bell countered, assuming their ballet stance.

"ABSOLUTELY!!!" Papyrus shouted and the battle began again.

Sparing Papyrus, Bell sprang into action as soon as the first attack began. Even with the blue attack on their body, Bell twirled and leapt through the panel of bones being hurled at them. They came out of the first attack damage free and smirked as they spared Papyrus again. He dabbed some marinara sauce behind his ear and looked down at Bell.

"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!"

Bell leapt through the next attack easily as well, diving under attacks and jumping over them in sequence. Between each attack and each spare, Papyrus had an ongoing speech he kept saying to Bell.

"I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!!!"

Another attack. Bell barely scraped out without any damage.

After they caught the drift that Papyrus was just monologuing about himself again, Bell shut his words out and focused on dodging the increasingly difficult attacks. Hedges trimmed like his head, Undyne being proud, sans staying the same-blah, blah, blah. Bell didn't have time to listen to this jibber jabber when their life and the lives of their siblings were on the line; until, after one attack, Papyrus' voice changed and Bell actually listened to him. 

"I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS, BUT...HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME?" 

 _Is he kidding!?_ Bell thought as they jumped over the next attack. But they looked up at Papyrus and saw him trying to play it cool; they realized he was serious.

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE..."

 _Is this skeleton flirting with me!?_ Bell wondered, jumping through the next attack.

"I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY."

 _Maybe he doesn't want to fight,_ Bell hoped, remembering what Laurel had said in the library.

"URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP!!"

 _Nope. Thought too soon._  Bell concluded, thinking fast to avoid the rapidly growing and shrinking bones being flung at them.

"GIVE UP OR FACE MY...SPECIAL ATTACK!" 

Bell wished he'd just use the special attack and get it over with, they were getting tired of jumping over bones.

"YEAH!!! VERY SOON I WILL USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!"

 _Is he...stalling?_ Bell squinted up at Papyrus as they jumped over the next attack.

"NOT TOO LONG AND I WILL USE THAT SPECIAL ATTACK!!!"

"Oh, just bring it on already!" Bell shouted as they jumped and dodged more bones.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE...BEFORE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!" 

Bell swerved and spun and glided under the attack and then waited for more stalling from Papyrus.

"BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

 _Finally!_ Bell thought, bracing for an actual challenge.

When the attack began though, Bell only saw a little white dog gnawing on a bone before them.

"WHAT THE HECK!" Papyrus shouted down at the dog. "THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!!"

The dog's eyes bulged out of its head. Scuttling away, the dog took off with what was left of the special attack. 

"HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!"

Bell could hear Hop squealing as the dog ran past them and then making noises of disappointment when the dog didn't stop and let them pet it.

Papyrus looked over as the dog ran away with his special attack. "... OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK." he decided.

Bell groaned, waiting for the next attack.

"*SIGH*" Papyrus sighed. "HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."

The attack started normally enough and Bell dodged the attacks in normal fashion. But then, they quickly sped up and started circling each other. The little dog scurried back over, bone still in mouth, and then Bell had to launch themself over a set of bones shaped into the words "Cool Dude". A bone wearing sunglasses rode by on a skateboard, and Bell began to wonder if this whole battle was just a fever dream. They didn't have much time to seriously consider that, because an entire platoon of bone attacks was headed their way.

Bell leaped into the air, but knew they couldn't stay up over this row of bones for very long. Or at least, they thought they wouldn't have been able to. But they just kept rising higher and higher, to the point where it felt like they were being held up instead of jumping and falling. A huge bone headed their way, at least ten times the size of a regular attack, and Bell just floated right over it and landed gently on their feet. 

One more tiny attack headed their way. Bell didn't even jump, they just sort of side-stepped over the attack and looked up at Papyrus. 

"WELL...!" Papyrus huffed, looking worn out. "IT'S CLEAR...YOU CAN'T *HUFF* DEFEAT ME!!! YEAH!!! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!!!"

Bell looked over at their discarded winter boots, but didn't make the obvious joke.

"THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!!! I WILL _SPARE_ YOU, HUMAN!!! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY."

Bell glanced over at their siblings to make sure they were seeing how ridiculous this was. Getting a resounding shrug from the siblings that were conscious, Bell accepted Papyrus' mercy and the battle ended. Bell's siblings ran up to their side to see what would happen next.

The fog suddenly lifted and Bell could see Papyrus facing away from them at the edge of Snowdin.

"NYOO HOO HOO..." Papyrus sobbed. "I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU...UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD...AND...MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

"What a los-" Bell started to say, but was elbowed in the side by Hop before the word "loser" could escape their lips. "I mean, uh, let's be friends!" 

Papyrus turned around, beaming. "REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME??? WELL THEN...I GUESS...I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU GUYS! WOW!!! I HAVE FRIENDS AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??"

"Yep, those are the basic keys to friendship if ever I heard 'em," Bell nodded, holding a stitch in their side and trying to regulate their breathing.

"YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMANS," Papyrus smiled down at the seven children gathered before him. "I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE."

Laurel took their notebook out and flipped to a fresh page. "Uh-huh?" 

"CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL... LIKE YOU GUYS!!!" Papyrus gestured to the humans with both of his skeletal arms. "THAT'S WHY THE KING WANT TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE! OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU...TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE."

The kids froze up at the mention of King Asgore, the monster they only knew as someone who wanted to kill them.The kids leaned in closer, hanging on every word as it came out of Papyrus' mouth.

"THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS..." Papyrus said. "HE IS...WELL...HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!" Papyrus declared to the children's shocked faces. "EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY...'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

"Is that so?" Alex gave an anxious laugh. "Well, that's a relief!" 

"GLAD TO BE OF HELP!" Papyrus gave Alex a saltue. "ANYWAY!!! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING!!! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" 

Papyrus then walked away, hovering above the group of humans and heading back towards Snowdin Town.

"That guy is seriously weird," Bell shook their head. "But he sure is nice."

There came a series of groans and everyone looked over to Robin and Twain, who were still nestled in Alex's arms. Twain woke up first, stretched, and stood up. 

"What happened?" Twain rubbed their eyes. 

"You just slept through the most _amazing_ battle!" Hop shouted. "Bell's the most incredible fighter I've ever seen!!!"

"I didn't even fight, I danced," Bell said, striking a pose and then slumping into exhaustion. "Can we get the heck out of Snowdin already!? I'm sick of the cold."

"Hold on a second, Robin's still waking up," Alex said and the kids gathered around as Robin's eyes peeked open.

"So," Robin cracked a smile. "Did I win?" 

The others laughed in relief and told Robin all about Bell's fight with Papyrus.

"Wow, you didn't get hit at all?" Robin raised their eyebrows. "That's incredible, Bell."

"Yeah, it was!!" Hop exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Bell, you're gonna go hang out with Papyrus, right? Can I come?? Please?"

"Hold on," Bell held up their hands. "I might go back and hang out later. Right now, let's please get out of Snowdin. Robin, can you walk?"

"Of course I can walk," Robin said, jumping down from Alex's arms and standing on their feet. "Wait, no I can't," Robin decided, swaying where they stood and nearly falling over. 

"I've got ya," Alex said, draping one of Robin's arms over their shoulder and helping them walk. "Okay, guys, on to Waterfall!" 


	8. Premonition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to hang out with some skeletons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might also be a bit long, but I believe it will be shorter to read than it is to write lmao.

Alex trudged at the back of the group, basically carrying Robin as they slumped against them for support. Robin had taken the worst of the hits when they and Twain had battled Papyrus and was subsequently exhausted, barely able to muster the energy to scold Bell for dancing along the river's edge. Barely.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Bell!?" Robin called out as their sibling did a grand jeté along the icy waters.

"Didn't you already have a sort of _heart attack_?" Bell winked, referencing the battle Robin had just undergone.

Robin rolled their eyes so far into their skull they almost did a backflip. "Well, if I die, at least it was because Bell made a pun and not for some stupid reason."

As they all exited Snowdin, the temperature got a little warmer and a lot damper. Huge chunks of ice still floated in the river, bobbing in the churning currents. Crossing into Waterfall, Frisk and Hop immediately found someone they recognized. Taking Frisk's hand, Hop bolted over to say hi to Monster Kid.

"Hi, Monster Kid!" Hop waved. 

"Yo!" Monster Kid greeted. "Are you sneaking out to see her, too? Awesome...She's the coolest, right!? I wanna be just like her when I grow up..."

"Uh, like who?" Hop asked, tipping their hat up out of their eyes.

"Undyne! The Head of the Royal Guard!!" Monster Kid explained, looking amazed that someone could actually not know who they meant when describing the coolest person in the underground.

"Undyne?" Robin called over their shoulder. "She's here?" 

"Uhm, I'm not sure!" Monster Kid turned towards Robin, excited that someone knew who they were talking about. "She mainly hangs in Waterfall though so I figured this was the best place to try and meet her." 

"Right," Robin nodded, trying for a smile but just ending up looking slightly nauseous.

"You okay, Rob?" Alex asked. 

"Fine," Robin waved off the concern and turned Monster Kid a smaller, more manageable, smile. "Good luck spotting her!" 

"Thanks!" Monster Kid beamed. "And hey, don't tell my parents I'm here. Ha ha."

Robin's smile widened. "Only if you don't tell mine." 

"You're kidding me! _He's_ here!?" Laurel couldn't help but shout out when they saw sans sitting at one of his sentry stations, grinning as usual. 

_"You're kidding me! He's here!?"_

"Okay, Laurel, we heard you the first time," Alex said. 

"That...wasn't me..." Laurel turned around slowly.

An orange fish monster by the wall cleared his throat and spoke up, gesturing to a tall blue flower next to him. "This is an Echo Flower," he said. "It repeats the last thing it heard, over and over..."

"Whoa!" Laurel's glasses gleamed as they took out their notebook. "That is so cool!" 

_"That is so cool!"_

Laurel laughed and kept talking to the Echo Flower, hearing their voice repeat back to them.

Alex side-stepped their sibling and took Robin over to sans' sentry station.

"You have a station here too?" Robin asked, leaning against the counter to keep from falling over.

"what? haven't you seen a guy with two jobs before?" sans asked, grinning as the rest of the humans wandered over to his station. "phew, good to see you guys finally got _out of the woods_."

Laurel groaned at the pun and the Echo Flower shot it back at them.

"except you're not looking too good, robin," sans remarked, looking up at Robin's face. "did you get to battle my brother?"

"How could you tell?" Robin sighed, knowing they were setting themself up for another pun.

"it's 'cause you look absolutely _bone_ dead tired," sans chuckled while the kids groaned. "hey, you know, the fortunate thing about having two jobs is you get twice as many legally-required breaks. i'm going to grillby's. you guys wanna come?"

"Yeah!" Hop jumped up in the back. "Then we can go hang out with Papyrus afterwards!!"

"Nooooooooo," Bell whined. "We just left Snowdin!!"

"hey, i know a shortcut if that helps," sans said.

"A shortcut?" Laurel raised their eyebrows. "I want to go."

"Oh, the betrayal!!" Bell cried out dramatically.

"Come on, Bell, it could be fun!" Twain said.

"Hrmm," Bell crossed their arms. "I guess if you guys _really_ want to go back to that frozen tundra then I'll go too."

"Guess we're going then," Alex said.

"well, if you insist..." sans said. "i'll pry myself away from my work..."

sans stepped out from behind his station and walked to the edge of the area, the one facing away from Snowdin.

"shortcut's over here," sans said. "follow me."

The group followed sans to the next area and, all of a sudden, they were in Grillby's.

"fast shortcut, huh?" Sans turned and beamed at the shocked faces behind him. Laurel looked ready to launch across the room and strangle sans, but Bell had their hands braced on their friend's shoulders in case of any sudden launching. sans turned back around and greeted the room. "hey, everyone."

The monsters in the room all said their individual hellos to sans, one asking about how he was just in there for breakfast a few minutes ago.

"nah," sans winked. "i haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour. you must be thinking of brunch."

The room erupted in laughter at sans' joke. The kids still hovered by the entrance, still trying to wrap their head around how they'd gotten there. Frisk was the first to move forward, joining sans up at the bar.

"here, get comfy." sans said, helping frisk up onto one of the barstools and taking the only other available one himself. 

_Thhhbbbbbbbbbbtt!_

"whoops, watch where you sit down," sans told Frisk while the other humans gathered at the bar where they had to stand. "sometimes weirdos like to put whoopie-cushions on the seats."

"I bet," Robin leaned their head on their hand, remembering how they'd first met sans.

"anyways, let's order." sans said, beckoning Grillby over to Frisk. "whaddaya want?" Frisk signed that they wanted fries, and sans understood. "hey, that sounds pretty good. grillby, we'll have an, uh, octuple order of fry."

Grillby went into the back to prepare the food and sans looked to all of the humans gathered around him.

"so, what do you think..." sans began. "...of my brother?"

"HE'S THE COOLEST!!" Hop replied immediately, imitating Papyrus' loud voice. 

"of course he's cool. you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to."

"Hmm, wonder if we know anyone like that," Alex murmured, tugging at the sleeve of Robin's robe.

"Oh, leave me alone," Robin swatted their sibling's hand away, but couldn't help cracking a smile.

"hey, at least he washes it," sans continued. "and by that i mean he wears it in the shower. here comes the grub."

Grillby walked over with the eight orders of fries and set them down on the counter.

"want some ketchup?" sans offered.

Frisk nodded and took the bottle in their hands. Tipping it over, ever-so-slightly, the entire bottle spilled on top of their fries. The other six humans grimaced at the red mess.

"whoops," sans remarked. "eh, forgeddaboudit. you can have mine. i'm not hungry anyways."

sans pushed his fries towards Frisk, but they didn't seem to be very hungry either and didn't even touch them.

"anyways," sans picked up again. "cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard. like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard. one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard and begged her to let him be in it. of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight. but the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there. seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training. it's, uh, still a work in progress."

Bell remembered the battle they'd had with him. They thought he was actually a pretty tough guy, but they doubted he would make a good warrior. Especially since he'd just let them past him at the drop of a hat.

"oh yeah," sans said suddenly. "I wanted to ask you guys something."

The siblings all leaned in, listening intently.

"have you ever heard of a talking flower?"

All seven of the kids exchanged looks ranging from frightened to infuriated at the mere chance Flowey was being brought up.

"Yeah, we've heard of something like that." Alex said, crossing their arms and glancing around as if even mentioning Flowey would summon him.

"so you know all about it," sans nodded, suddenly serious. "the echo flower. they're all over the marsh. say something and they'll repeat it over and over..."

"What about it?" Laurel asked.

"well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day," sans said. "sometimes, when no one else is around...a flower appears and whispers things to him."

"What kind of things?" Robin asked, their face growing concerned.

"oh, you know, flattery...advice...encouragement..." sans listed. "...predictions. weird, huh? someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him. keep an eye out, ok?"

"I definitely will!" Hop spoke up, always ready to take down that smarmy flower the next time they even caught wind of him.

"thanks," sans grinned, standing up from his seat. "welp, that was a long break. i can't believe i let you kids pull me away from my work for that long. oh, by the way...i'm flat broke. can you foot the bill? it's just 40000G."

"Are you kidding!?" Laurel exclaimed. 

"yep," sans winked. "grillby, put it on my tab."

sans walked to the door and turned around. "by the way..."

There was a pause. The kids looked expectantly down at sans.

"...i was going to say something, but i forgot." Then, he left. 

" _Now_ can we leave Snowdin?" Bell asked immediately, pushing their cold fries away from them.

"But what about hanging out with Papyrus?" Hop asked. "Can't we just stop by and see him, please?"

"Hnnnnnngggghhhh," Bell groaned, not relishing the idea of another shouting match with The Great Papyrus where they were always on the losing side.

"It would be rude to not show up after being invited," Twain added.  

"How about this? We head back to Waterfall, and, if we run into Papyrus on the way, we stop and hang out for a while." Robin suggested.

All of the kids agreed to the terms and headed back out into Snowdin's cold. Up ahead in the distance, Bell made out Papyrus' silhouette and turned on Robin.

"You knew he would be waiting out here," Bell accused their eldest sibling.

"Oh, how would I have known that?" Robin countered, walking ahead. "Hi, Papyrus!"

"SO YOU DECIDED TO COME BACK AND HANGOUT!?" Papyrus turned and greeted his friends. "YOU MUST REALLY LIKE ME. I'LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU ALL SOMEPLACE REALLY SPECIAL!!! A PLACE I LIKE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME!!"

Heading up the group; Papyrus lead the humans back across Snowdin, turned around, and walked back to where he had been standing before.

"MY HOUSE!!!" Papyrus announced and went inside. The group followed him in, eager to get out of the cold. 

* * *

Bell sifted through the box of bones in the corner of Papyrus' room, wrinkling their nose at the familiarity. 

Papyrus noticed them examining the bones and came over to Bell's side. "HEY, THOSE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I USED ON YOU. GREAT MEMORIES, HUH? SEEMS LIKE IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY...EVEN THOUGH IT BASICALLY JUST HAPPENED."

"Hey, Papyrus!" Hop called from where they and Frisk were playing with some action figures shaped like sexy robots. "Where'd you get these cool toys?"

"AH, YES, ACTION FIGURES. A GREAT REFERENCE FOR THEORETICAL BATTLE SCENARIOS," Papyrus said, going over to Hop.

"Wow," Hop admired the collection. "How'd you get so many?"

"WELL, LET'S JUST SAY THEY'RE FROM A CHUBBY, SMILING MAN WHO LOVES TO SURPRISE PEOPLE," Papyrus hinted. 

"Santa!" Twain said from where they were flipping through a picture book. 

"YEAH!!! THAT'S RIGHT! SANTA!!!" Papyrus said. He noticed the book Twain was holding and turned to them next. "I CAN'T BELIEVE ROBIN FELL ASLEEP WITHOUT A STORY!!" He remarked, casting a glance at Robin, who had fallen asleep in Papyrus' race car bed as soon as he'd said they could take a nap there. "I USUALLY CAN'T SLEEP A WINK WITHOUT 'PEEK-A-BOO WITH FLUFFY BUNNY'."  

"I think they're still pretty worn out from battling you, Papyrus," Alex smirked, picking at the corner of the pirate flag on the wall. "Hey, where'd you get this?"

"UNDYNE FOUND THAT AT THE BAY!" Papyrus said. "I THINK IT'S FROM THE HUMAN WORLD? NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. WHY WOULD A HUMAN FLAG HAVE A COOL SKELETON ON IT? WELL...I HAVE A THEORY."

"Oh, I can't wait to here this," Bell sighed, pulling the covers up over Robin. 

"I THINK HUMANS..." Papyrus continued. "MUST HAVE DESCENDED FROM SKELETONS!!!"

"Well, you're partly right," Laurel laughed, turning away from the computer in the corner of the room. 

"SO...UM...IF YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING...DO YOU WANT TO START HANGING OUT?" Papyrus asked.

"Bell, what do you say?" Alex called their sibling over.

Bell walked over, staring up at Papyrus. "Sure," they half-laughed, half-sighed. "Why not?"

"OKAY!!! LET'S HANG THEN!!!" Papyrus smiled.

Bell and Papyrus faced off again, but this time neither of them planned on attack. Standing in the middle of the room, the two began their official "hanging out". The other kids all sat down around them to watch the show.

"HERE WE ARE!! HANGING OUT!!" Papyrus declared. "I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. BUT DON'T WORRY!!! YOU CAN'T SPELL PREPARED WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!!! I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANGOUT GUIDEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARY! WE'RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!"

Bell looked over their shoulder and locked eyes with Laurel.

"Just go with it, Bell," Laurel shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Okay, if you say so," Bell shook their head, then smiled and looked back to Papyrus.

"LET'S SEE...ASK THEM TO HANG OUT." Papyrus recited. "AHEM! HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HANG OUT WITH YOU!!!"

"No," Bell shook their head. "That's not a questi-"

"FORTUNATELY!" Papyrus interrupted. "IT ONLY SAYS I HAVE TO ASK!!! I GUESS THAT MEANS IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PART!!! PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW YOU CARE."

Papyrus paused and looked Bell up and down.

"...WAIT A SECOND. 'WEAR CLOTHING...' THAT TUTU YOU HAVE ON...YOU'RE WEARING CLOTHING RIGHT NOW!!! NOT ONLY THAT...EARLIER TODAY, YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHING! NO...COULD IT BE??? YOU'VE WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!??" 

"Uh..." Bell hesitated, but never got the chance to respond.

"Y E S !!!" Hop shouted out, jumping into the hangout. 

"Thank goodness," Bell sighed in relief, sitting down.

"NO!!" Papyrus shouted, clutching his face. "YOU PLANNED IT ALL! YOU'RE WAY BETTER AT HANGING OUT THAN I AM!!! N-NOOOO YOUR FRIENDSHIP POWER!!!"

Hop giggled at Papyrus' bewildered expression.

"NYEH!" Papyrus laughed, suddenly looking triumphant. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! DON'T THINK YOU'VE BESTED ME YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN AT HANGING OUT, AND I NEVER WILL! I CAN EASILY KEEP UP WITH YOU! YOU SEE, I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHING!!! IN FACT, I ALWAYS WEAR MY 'SPECIAL' CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES!! JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WANTS TO HANG OUT!! BEHOLD!!!"

Papyrus promptly took off his 'battle body' and revealed underneath...the most ridiculous outfit any of the kids had ever seen.

"NYEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!?!" Papyrus asked. 

Hop looked up at the basketball shoulder blades and the hand-printed 'Cool Dude' on the front of the shirt and smiled.

"I love it!" Hop said.

"NO!!! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT!!!" Papyrus cried. "HOWEVER, YOU DON'T TRULY UNDERSTAND THE HIDDEN POWER OF THIS OUTFIT!!! THEREFORE, WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID!! THIS HANG-OUT WON'T ESCALATE ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU FIND MY SECRET!! BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN!"

Hop looked over Papyrus' outfit, stumped for even a clue to what his 'Hidden Power' could be. Thankfully, Laurel had figured it out the second Papyrus had revealed his new outfit.

"It's your hat!" Laurel stood up, pointing to Papyrus' head.  

"MY HAT...?" Papyrus squinted. "MY HAT. MY HAT! NYEH HEH HEH!!" 

Papyrus' hat lifted up to reveal a wrapped box. "W-WELL THEN...YOU FOUND MY SECRET! I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE! IT'S A PRESENT...A PRESENT J-JUST FOR YOU ALL!" 

Alex stepped forward and took the box off of Papyrus' head since they were the only one tall enough to reach. Ripping the gift open, the kids glanced inside. 

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS?" Papyrus asked. 

"Of course," Alex said.

"It's spaghetti," Twain murmured, peeking over Alex's arm into the box.

"RIGHT!" Papyrus cheered. "BUT OH-SO WRONG! THIS AIN'T ANY PLAIN OL' PASTA! THIS IS AN ARTISAN'S WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASK ... THEN COOK BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! HUMANS!!! IT'S TIME TO END THIS!! THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN GO ANY FURTHER!!" 

"I think he wants us to eat it," Laurel whispered.

"Well, _I'm_ not going to do it," Bell said right off the bat from where they were leaning onto Laurel's shoulder.

"Yeah, I mean, I like Papyrus but not that much," Hop muttered. 

"Oh, just give it to me!" Twain said at last, taking the spaghetti from Alex's hands. Twirling up a forkful of pasta, Twain crammed the whole thing right into their mouth. Their face reflexively scrunched up, but refrained from saying anything for fear of the truth slipping out.

"WHAT A PASSIONATE EXPRESSION!!! YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING! AND BY EXTENSION, ME!! MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN I DO!!" Papyrus exclaimed, making all manner of shouts as he got hit by pangs of affection. "NOOOOOO!"

Papyrus fell to his knees in front of the kids, looking defeated.

"HUMANS," Papyrus said. "IT'S CLEAR NOW. YOU'RE ALL COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH ME. EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT'S ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE. HUMANS. I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO. IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. IT'S TIME THAT I TOLD YOU. I, PAPYRUS..."

Papyrus looked from side to side, stood up, and put his hands on his hips. "HMM...WELL, I'M FLATTERED YOU ALL CARE SO MUCH. BUT MAYBE COOL IT A LITTLE BIT...? YOU ARE ALL VERY NICE PEOPLE. I'M GLAD WE'RE FRIENDS. BUT, I THINK YOU COULD REACH YOUR MAX POTENTIALS IF YOU LIVE MORE FOR YOUR OWN SAKES. RATHER THAN JUST FOR MINE." 

Bell found themself oddly touched by Papyrus' speech. It was all inaccurate, but they were starting to appreciate Papyrus' sincere concern for theirs and their siblings' well-beings. And then his next suggestion came out.

"HMMM...HEY, I KNOW THE SOLUTION!" Papyrus lit up. "YOU SHOULD HANG OUT WITH MY BOSS, UNDYNE!!! I THINK IF YOU GUYS SPREAD YOUR FRIEND-ENERGY OUT MORE YOU'LL HAVE MORE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES. YEAH!!! LET'S BE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!" 

Papyrus began to leave, but then seemed to remember something and headed back. "OH, AND IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER!! YOU CAN CALL ME ANY TIME!! PLATONICALLY. WELL, GOTTA GO!! NYEH HEH HEH!" 

Papyrus left the room and the siblings all looked at each other.

"Did he just suggest we go hang out with the Head of the Royal Guard?" Hop murmured to Frisk, who nodded and raised their eyebrows in shock.

" _Now_ can we leave Snowdin?" Bell asked.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Let me wake Robin up and then we'll go."

* * *

"So, Papyrus made you eat spaghetti and then suggested we go hang out with the one person in the underground who probably wants to kill us as much as Asgore!?" Robin asked as they put Papyrus' number into their phone. "Kind of glad I was asleep for that." 

"I wish I had been asleep," Bell muttered, kicking a rock into the river as they headed to Waterfall for the second time that day. "Some people have all the luck."

"Oh yes, it was enormously lucky for me to get the wind knocked out of me in less than two rounds," Robin said. "So, are you guys ready to finally go through Waterfall?"

"I was born ready," Bell scoffed. 

"Oh, so _that's_ why you fell down here!" Alex exclaimed sarcastically. "You see, I recall something about you being dared to dance along the cavern's edge and-"

"That's it!" Bell jumped on Alex's back and attempted to topple them over. "Aaaagh, you're going into the river!"

"Your feet don't even reach the ground from up there, munchkin!" Alex taunted.

"Die, giant!!!" Bell shouted, jumping down from Alex's back and pushing them forward.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Alex teased, bolting away from their enraged sibling. The two took off towards Waterfall, fighting closer and closer to the river's edge as they ran. Robin ran after them, the younger siblings trailing after them.

"You guys!" Robin shouted, gathering their skirts up so they could run properly. "I swear, you really _are_ going to give me a heart attack!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, just another thank-you to anyone who's still reading!! You guys rock.


	9. Danger Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group starts on their tour through Waterfall and meet Undyne for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : ooo Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get up! I'm a twinge busy this week and just wasn't feeling my best this past weekend : (( But!! It is here now!!!

"Well, I guess we know why they call it Waterfall!" Alex remarked, staring up at the waterfall rushing past them.

"Yeah, it was a real head-scratcher," Bell rolled their eyes, stuffing their scarf into the box that had appeared again. 

"Oh man!" Hop called out from the docks below where they and Frisk had wondered over to while the others put their normal shoes back on. 

"What is it? What's wrong!?" Robin peered over the edge of the short drop off they were on.

"It's another one of those cameras!" Hop said, their hands pushing into the waterfall to scowl at a hidden camera.

"That makes at least seven that I've counted," Laurel came tromping down to the lower level, their sandals splatting on the damp wood of the docks. "How'd you even find that!?"

"Frisk heard the Echo Flower mention it," Hop pointed to their right where a single Echo Flower grew.

"Who keeps planting those cameras?" Bell wondered out loud. 

"I don't know, but they're _CREEPING ME OUT_!!" Hop shouted directly into the camera's lens.

"Hop!" Laurel panicked, covering their siblings mouth with their entire arm. "You don't know who's on the other side of that camera."

Hop pushed Laurel off of them. "I don't care! I'm not scared of anyone!!" 

"Guys! Come on, we should get moving!" Alex called down, waving their siblings over with one huge sweep of their arm.

Frisk, Laurel, and Hop ascended back to where the rest of their siblings were standing.

"Looks like we're going to have to walk through," Robin said, looking at the rushing water. "What is with all of these rocks, though!?"

"Maybe they've hit _rock bottom_ ," Bell said, chuckling at their own joke.

"Jeez, Bell, you're worse than Mom," Alex remarked. They noticed Robin's spine go rigid for a second at the mention of Toriel, and made a mental note to try and not mention their mother again. "So, uh, how deep is this water?" 

"Let me see..." Robin said, lifting their skirts and sticking one freckly leg into the water. Their leg stopped going down about halfway up their shin. "Oh, it's not that deep! We can easily all get acr-whOA!" 

As they had been talking, Robin's leg had gotten caught by one of the falling rocks and they were being swept down with the current.

"ROBIN!!!" the kids gasped, looking over the edge of the waterfall to see where Robin would land. 

The waterfall deposited Robin on the lower docks, drenched in freezing water. 

"Okay," Robin spluttered, standing up. "Maybe don't touch those rocks, huh?" 

The kids all breathed a sigh of relief as Robin returned unharmed. Lifting Frisk up onto their back, Robin began heading across the water. Once they reached the other side safely, they motioned for the rest of the kids to come across.

Hop rushed forward and climbed up onto Alex's shoulders just as they were about to begin to cross.

"Whoa!" Alex froze at the sudden realization a small child was climbing their back. "Enjoying the view up there, Hop?"

"Yeah!" Hop said, not catching the sarcasm in Alex's voice. Alex just laughed and headed across, the water not even splashing their basketball shorts.

Twain went ahead and Bell and Laurel followed behind, coming up on the other side soaking wet from the knees down.

"Well, that was an adventure," Bell remarked, unslinging their ballet slippers from around their shoulders and slipping them back on their feet. "What's next?"

"Looks like a..." Laurel squinted up ahead. "...patch of seaweed?"

"Wonderful," Alex muttered, walking over to the next area. "I am just lovin' Waterfall." 

The seaweed was taller than Frisk, coming up to Alex's waist. The kids had trudged about halfway through when Robin felt a tug at their ankle and fell flat on their back. Before they could speak, tiny hands covered their mouth. 

Frisk was sitting on top of Robin, rapidly pressing a finger to their lips and then pointing up.

"Something's up there?" Robin asked, tugging Frisk's hand from their mouth.

"Uh...what are you guys doing?" Alex asked, looking down at their two siblings.

"Get down," Robin waved their hand. "Frisk sees something." 

Alex got down, bringing the rest of the kids with them. Crouching in the seaweed, the kids looked up to see what Frisk had seen. From the ground, though, it was hard to see much of anything. Thankfully, the person talking had a very loud and familiar voice.

"H...HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT...UHHHH...REGARDING THOSE HUMANS I TOLD YOU ABOUT EARLIER."

"Is that Papyrus?" Hop whispered.

"Who's that he's talking to?" Alex asked.

"Undyne," Robin's face went pale. "The Head of the Royal Guard." 

"Is he gonna narc on us!?" Bell wrinkled their nose.

"Shh!" Frisk shushed the others.

"...HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM...? W-W-WELL....NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END...I FAILED.....W-WHAT?" Papyrus continued, replying to a question the kids hadn't heard. "YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMANS' SOULS YOURSELF..."

"Here it comes, we're dead," Bell shook their head, giving up hope that Papyrus would defend them against his friend and boss.

"Keep talking and we will be!" Robin hissed.

"BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE...YOU SEE..." Papyrus was cut off as Undyne muttered something indiscernible to him. "...I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN."

"See!? I told you!" Bell said.

"Hmm..." Robin narrowed their eyes up at the top of the platform Undyne and Papyrus had been talking on. "I guess we'll find out." 

"Fine," Alex shrugged, standing up. "Let's just get out of this seawe-" 

Alex got dragged back down by Twain and Laurel, as their movements had caught Undyne's attention and she was heading to the edge of the platform. It was then the humans caught their first glimpses of the Head of the Royal Guard.

She was wearing gleaming silver armor, complete with helmet so they couldn't see her face and she brandished a glowing blue spear. As she stood atop the platform, Undyne looked as if she were about to launch the spear into the forest of seaweed. But something seemed to stop her and she backed away from the ledge. There was a warping sound and then nothing else.

The kids waited about a full minute before daring to exit their hiding spot. When they finally all got out, they glanced upwards to make sure Undyne wasn't about to jump out and surprise them. A feeling of dread hung over their heads as they turned to go to the next area; and then another rustling sounded in the bushes.

Monster Kid burst out of the seaweed to the immense relief of the seven humans; they hadn't even known they were in there with them.

"Yo, did you see the way she was staring at you?" Monster Kid asked. "That...was AWESOME! I'm SOOOOO jealous! What'd you guys do to get her attention...? Ha ha. C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!" 

"Oh, we'll be there!" Bell called out sarcastically as Monster Kid ran ahead; then turned to mutter to Laurel. "How long until that kid realizes we're the 'bad guys' in question here?"

"Well, I just hope it lasts," Laurel said, flinging a piece of seaweed off their glasses. "Because the way they idolize Undyne...I'm sure our secret wouldn't be safe with them for long."

"Robin, do you think Undyne's going to catch us?" Twain whimpered up at their oldest sibling.

"Absolutely not," Robin shook their head, but their expression lacked the courage of their words and their hands gave way to their shaking resolve. "Uh, let's just keep going, okay? Best not to think about stuff like that."

"Okay," Twain nodded, taking Robin's hand as they headed to the next area.

"Great, another waterfall!" Bell exclaimed, stepping into the small space. "Do we have to walk through this one too? Can't we just jump across!?"

"No!" Robin refused.

Bell rolled their eyes. "Well, how do you propose we cross then? Look at how fast that water is moving. We're gonna get swept up in the current if we try and walk through."

"I know a thing or two about river currents, Bell, believe you me," Robin scoffed. 

"'When four Bridge Seeds align in the water, they will sprout.'" Laurel read a sign on the wall, stopping Bell and Robin's argument dead in its tracks.

"What the fuck is a Bridge Seed?" Alex crossed their arms.

Robin sighed heavily and looked to the cavern's ceiling. "Alex, would it kill you to watch your lang-" 

_Splash!_

The group turned their heads and saw that Frisk had thrown a huge seed pod into the water.

"Guess _those_ are Bridge Seeds," Twain said, pointing to where Frisk stood among the three remaining seeds.

"Ooooooh! Let me try!" Hop said, picking up a Bridge Seed and pushing into the water towards the one Frisk had tossed in.

Alex stepped up and launched the next one into the water, slam-dunking it into place next to the other two. Twain picked up the fourth and dropped it in; and the whole group watched in awe as a little pink flower bridge sprouted up out of the water.

"Now _this_ is what I'm talking about!" Alex strode across the bridge first and waited for their siblings to catch up. Then, they were off into the next area; Alex was at the head, still jabbering away. "I tell you what, it's been ages since I've seen a flower that was actually usef-"

Alex got cut off as they felt their soul get tugged into a battle. A seahorse monster appeared, flexing his inordinately huge muscles and flaunting his uncovered 24-pack of abs.

"Oh my God," Alex stared in disbelief at the ridiculous monster. They turned around to their siblings' shocked faces for help. "What do I even do with this?"

Frisk flexed their tiny arms at Alex.

"What? Flex?" Alex asked, flexing their arms as they did so.

"Flexing contest? OK, flex more." The monster named Aaron winked, flexing his own muscles harder than before. 

Drops of weaponized sweat flew at Alex from all sides, a few of them pelting into their back but not really inflicting much damage. The attack ended and Alex flexed again. This time, burly arms with no bodies attached flexed up on either side of Alex and they had to weave between them. 

"Alright, I see how it is!" Alex lifted their eyebrows and grinned. "Check out these guns, baby!" Alex said as they flexed twice as hard as before.

"Nice!! I won't lose tho," Aaron winked at Alex again and flexed even harder. More biceps flew past, a few punches landing on Alex's sides.

Alex had had enough of this creepy horse winking and flexing at them; they put all of their might into the next flex. Aaron flexed super hard in return. So hard, in fact, he flexed himself right out of the room and left 30G at Alex's feet.

"So long, creep," Alex muttered, pocketing the cash. "Let's keep going." 

Another Bridge Seed puzzle, this time more complicated, awaited the kids in the next room. While the other kids tried to solve the puzzle, Hop and Frisk explored the area.

There wasn't much to see beyond the pools of water and mucky ground; but one of the pools caught Frisk's attention, and they waved Hop over to check it out. 

"What's up?" Hop asked, going over to where Frisk was staring down past the far end of the room. "You think something's down there?" 

Frisk nodded, sticking their arm out past where the room should have ended and showing that there was still some room to grasp at the air. 

"Whoa, cool!" Hop said. "Let's check it out!" 

Frisk nodded and went to step into the water, but the water quickly came up to their thigh before their foot even touched the bottom. Drawing their foot back out, Frisk made a face and wandered over to where the Bridge Seeds were. Picking one up, Frisk began walking back to the other pool of water.

"Frisk?" Robin called out, stopping the youngest kid in their tracks. "What are you doing?"

"There's something on the other side of this wall," Hop explained for Frisk.

"Guys," Robin sighed, taking the seed from Frisk's hands. "I'm just trying to get us out of Waterfall in one piece. Help me out a little here, please?" 

Robin turned away and passed the pod to Laurel, who was strategically placing their next dropping point. 

"Guess we'll have to check that place out another time," Hop said, glancing back over their shoulder towards the far wall. 

Frisk huffed an exasperated sigh, flopping their choppy bangs up off their forehead. 

Laurel figured the puzzle out in a matter of ten minutes and only had to ring the bell for a restart three times. The group traveled to the other side of the water at last, all gathering on the small platform before the next area. As they started to leave through the doorway, Robin's phone began to ring.

Robin had their phone out in a flash, hands fumbling to flip it open and answer in the hopes it was Toriel calling.

"Hello?" Robin whirled around, breathless. The person on the other end spoke so loudly, the other kids were able to hear him loud and clear.

"HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!"

"Oh...H-Hi, Papyrus," Robin replied, their shoulders drooping a little. "How did you get this number?"

"IT WAS EASY!!! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOUR!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus explained. "SO...WHAT ARE YOU WEARING...?"

Robin made a face, taken aback by the question. "Excuse me?"

"I'M...ASKING FOR A FRIEND." Papyrus said. "SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING A PURPLE ROBE. IS THAT TRUE? ARE YOU WEARING A PURPLE ROBE?" 

Robin was turned away from their siblings and couldn't see them waving their hands and drawing fingers across their necks to tell them not to tell the truth.

"Um, yeah?" Robin wrinkled their brow. 

"SO YOU ARE WEARING A PURPLE ROBE! GOT IT!!! WINK WINK!!! HAVE A NICE DAY!"

Papyrus hung up and Robin turned back to their siblings, finding them completely bewildered.

"What!?" Robin asked, tucking their phone away.

"He's taking your description for Undyne!" Alex spluttered.

"You think?" Robin lifted their brow.

"Uh, yeah," Bell said. "You should get rid of that robe right now."

Robin backed away, scandalized. "I most certainly will not! And I trust Papyrus not to give me away."

"It's your funeral, Rob," Alex shrugged. "But Undyne doesn't seem like the kind of monster to let you die quickly."

"Oh, I'll be fine," Robin rolled their eyes, walking into the next room; glad their turned back hid the fearful grimace pulling onto their face. 

"You sound pretty confident about that," Laurel raised one skeptical brow over the rim of their glasses. 

"I am," Robin lied, looking around for the next doorway. "How do we get out of here?"

Laurel was leaning in to listen to the Echo Flowers scattered throughout the room. "They don't see the stars down here, you know," they said. "They just look up at these sparkly rocks on the ceiling."

"That's so sad..." Twain murmured, looking up at the glittering ceiling. They felt a tug on their chest and, all of a sudden, they were facing off against a little monster that looked like a washing machine.

"Twain!" Bell gasped, rushing over to help them.

"It's okay!" Twain said, holding up their hands, smiling down at the monster. "Hey, little guy, you're so cute! Do you think you could clean me up a bit?" 

The monster hopped around excitedly and told Twain: "Green means clean." 

A swirl of water droplets spun out at Twain. Most of them were white and hurt when Twain would bump into them; but some of the drops were green and healed some of the damage Twain had undergone. The attack ended and, even though they'd gotten hit, Twain made it out with full HP. Sparing the Woshua, the battle ended as quickly as it had begun. Twain collected their winnings and turned back to beam at their siblings.

"You sure do beat all, Twain," Alex shook their head and grinned. "Now, let's see if we can find a way out of here."

As the others searched around for a door, Frisk went over to the telescope set up in the Wishing Room and peered into it. They found themself looking up at the glittering rocks on the ceiling, but something obstructed their view. Black streaks on the lens warped the twinkling stone ceiling; but, open further puzzling, Frisk realized the lines were actually letters. Pushing the telescope to a blank part of the wall, Frisk got the message.

Moving past the other kids, Frisk went to the back wall and gave it a push. An doorway sprung open with a twang, revealing a passage to the next room.

"How'd you find that, Frisk?" Laurel asked as they stepped towards the exit.

Frisk just smirked and tapped their eye, heading to the next area.

* * *

"Ugh, what is that!?" 

"Yikes!" 

"That is just...no good..."

"I don't even want to copy that down," Laurel winced up at the illustration on the wall, depicting a grotesque monster that had absorbed a human soul.

"Let's not look at this anymore," Robin suggested, leading the children away from the unnerving drawing.

The group came to a long expanse of dark, murky water. There was a little platform of driftwood at the end of the dock, but no other foreseeable way across.

"So, what now?" Bell asked.

"We could swim," Twain suggested.

"Bell can't swim," Laurel reminded their siblings. "Besides, we don't know what's in that water and we don't know the distance to the other side."

"Why not take this?" Alex asked, patting the little wooden platform bobbing in the water. "We could just send it back forth until we all reach the other side."

"Urrr...that board only looks sturdy enough for one journey to me," Laurel said, hands on their hips. "And we don't know if it will stay in the direction we push it in."

"There's only one solution then..." Alex nodded, standing up. "All of you, get in my arms. I'll carry us all across on that tiny plank."

"Can you lift six people?" Robin asked. 

"I'm gonna have to," Alex shrugged. "Now, Robin, you first. Get up here."

In the end, they ended up with Frisk on Alex's shoulders, Robin on their back and Hop on theirs, Twain in one arm and Laurel in the other, and Bell hugging onto their leg for dear life. Alex struggled to move forward, but was eventually able to stumble onto the platform and kick off.

"This is the worst part of the journey, no contest," Bell muttered, trying to keep from touching the water.

"You're not the one carrying everyone," Alex gasped under the added up weight of all of their siblings.

Just as Alex was about to lose their grip on their siblings and fall over, the plank coasted to a stop on the opposite dock. Lurching forward, Alex dropped their siblings and they all toppled into a heap on the dock.

"Eugh, are we all here?" Robin groaned, clambering to their feet. A chorus of six moans surfaced in reply. 

Helping each other up, the kids all continued down the dock.

"How long does this dock go for?" Twain asked, trying to look to the end but failing.

"Hmm, I'm not su-" Robin cut off with a high-pitched shriek as a glowing blue arrow shot down and pierced the boardwalk.

Looking to the left, the kids saw Undyne's armor moving in the shadows. More glowing arrows conjured up around her, ready to strike out.

"Everybody RUN!" Robin said, shoving their siblings in front of them. 

The kids took to their heels, bolting down the docks as fast as they could. Bell got winged by an arrow while trying to push Twain out of the way; blood gushed from their shoulder blade, but they kept moving. An arrow clubbed Alex across the back while they blocked Laurel and Frisk from an attack; and Robin narrowly dodged an arrow to the head, a lock of their hair getting lobbed off in the process.

"This monster is crazy!!" Hop shouted as Alex picked them up and carried them like a football.

"Let's lose her in that seaweed," Robin suggested, clutching their chest and trying to breathe.

Bolting into the briny patch of kelp, the group disappeared among the wavering stalks and tried to quiet themselves. The sound of metal boots mucked through the marshy ground, traveling deeper and deeper into the seaweed. Undyne stopped centimeters from Twain's nose, her silver armor gleaming in the precipitation of Waterfall.

The other siblings watched in helpless horror as Undyne drew her arm back. Robin moved to jump up and distract her, but Alex held them back. Undyne's arm shot forward and made a grab deep into the seaweed. Pulling up, Undyne yanked a kid into view...a Monster Kid.

Monster Kid looked elated at having half of their face pinched to the high heavens by the Head of the Royal Guard, grinning up at Undyne like this was exactly what they'd designed. Undyne held the child for a moment, silent for indiscernible reasons; then, she put Monster Kid back down and strode away in the opposite direction.

As soon as Undyne was out of eyeshot, the kids scrambled out of the seaweed and tried to regain a regular heartbeat. Monster Kid came running out after them, dancing excitedly in one spot.

"Yo! Did you see that!?" Monster Kid exclaimed. "Undyne just TOUCHED ME!!!! I'm never washing my face ever again...!"

The group just stared at Monster Kid, still trying to catch their breath and too tired to even pretend along with their excitement.

Monster Kid turned their gaze to Twain. "Man, are you unlucky. If you had been just a little bit to the left...! Yo, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!"

"That's what we're afraid of..." Twain muttered as Monster Kid ran ahead.

* * *

"That stupid skeleton," Laurel groaned, rubbing furiously at their right eye. They'd fallen for sans' telescope prank and was now trying to remove the red ink that'd been spread on the telescope's lens from their face. 

"At least it didn't get on your glasses," Bell said, finishing the last of their Nice Cream. "Hey, this stuff is amazing! My arm doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Yeah, too bad it doesn't heal clothing," Alex grumbled, gesturing to the gaping hole at the back of their shirt. They looked over to the Nice Cream stand where Robin was gently trying to explain their growing frustration with the Punch Card situation; the three youngest children were all clinging to their skirt, still spooked after the Undyne encounter on the docks.

"Well, I'd better go help Robin figure this punch card exchange out," Alex said, heading over to join the others at the Nice Cream stand.

Bell and Laurel sat against the wall, watching their siblings argue with the Nice Cream Guy for the next fifteen minutes. The tireless back and forth never seemed to lose its novelty on the others, and they showed no signs of backing down until they got their free Nice Cream.

Bell blew a strand of hair out of their face, turning to Laurel. "Hey...Do you wanna take a look around?" 

"Uh, sure," Laurel said, pushing their glasses up on their face. "Shouldn't we tell Robin we're going first?"

"Why?" Bell shrugged. "I just want to take a peek down the way. We'll be back way before they even finish arguing over their free Nice Cream."

Laurel glanced over to the Nice Cream stand to see Alex shoving a scribbled on notecard in Nice Cream Guy's face, shouting about a "scam" and "misleading advertising". They looked back at Bell and shrugged. "I guess you're right. Let's go."

Standing up, the two wandered from the Nice Cream stand and back out to the clearing where they'd been before. 

"hey kids, come back for another look through my telescope?" sans asked, chuckling to himself.

"No!" Laurel refused, stomping away and waiting for Bell by the edge of the docks. 

"boy, i can't do right by that kid, huh?" sans turned to Bell. "hey, uh, aren't you supposed to be with your older sibling or something?"

Bell struggled to come up with a believable lie, something they'd never been good at. Luckily, Laurel saw them and came over.

"Bell, come on," they said, hooking Bell's arm in theirs. "Robin said to be back in ten minutes." 

"Uh, yeah, okay," Bell nodded. "Bye, sans!"

"bye..." sans said, dipping an eyebrow at the two as they walked down to the lower docks.

"Bell, I love you to pieces but you couldn't tell a lie to save your life. Even Twain has you beat in that department," Laurel said as they stepped into the next area. "Whoa, check this place out!" 

The water around them glowed in phosphorescent blues, making everything placed against it a dark silhouette. The docks spanned wide in every direction, some leading off to other areas. Echo flowers dotted the landscape, bubbling with whispered wishes and overheard conversations. Laurel's glasses reflected the bright waters and gleamed as if to mirror the way their eyes were lighting up as they took in the space before them.

"Cool," Bell remarked, looking up at the cavernous ceiling.

"Come on, let's take a look around!" Laurel beamed, taking Bell's hand and tugging them along to go see the area.

* * *

"I'm sorry, you should have checked the box after each individual purchase," Nice Cream Guy was explaining for the umpteenth time.

"But that was not a stipulation of the promotion," Robin said, biting out their retort again with an increasing lack of temperance. 

"Look, the best I can suggest is to buy another Nice Cream and take a Punch Card. Then, buy another-"

"We are not doing that, we already bought three!" Alex said, tugging at their eyebrow in frustration.

There came a tiny gasp from Hop and they tugged on Robin's skirt, hard. "Robin, where are Bell and Laurel!?"

Robin spun around to gesture to the corner of the room. "They're right over...Oh my goodness..."

The kids turned to see that Bell and Laurel had gone missing from their spots against the wall. Robin felt their heart begin to pound in their head and grabbed either side of their face to keep from a complete breakdown. 

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Robin panicked, dancing from one foot to another. "I lost Bell and Laurel! I wasn't paying attention!! I-I have to go look for them."

"Calm down, Rob. They probably got bored and went to look around," Alex said. "We'll all go look for them."

"No, you stay here with the other kids," Robin ordered, hurrying to leave. "I'll call you when I find them!" 

"But Rob, it's dangerous to go alone!" Alex called out, rubbing the back of their neck nervously. "Undyne's out there, and-" 

"Undyne doesn't worry me," Robin flat-out lied. "If what you say is true, they're probably down on the lower docks," Robin babbled, trying to map out what they knew of the underground's layout in their head. "In which case, I won't be that far and I will be back in ten minutes."

"But-" Alex tried to protest again, but Robin was already gone. "Argh, they make me so mad when they don't listen!" 

"Alex? Is Robin going to find the others?" Twain asked.

"Believe me, Twain," Alex shook their head. "Nothing can stop Robin once they've made up their mind to do it. I'm more worried for Bell and Laurel."

Frisk gave Alex a quizzical look, wondering what they meant.

"Those two are going to be in a lot of trouble when they get back," Alex clarified. "If I were them, I'd start thinking up apologies now."

* * *

"sans! sans, have you seen Bell and Laurel?" Robin questioned the skeleton where he still stood by his telescope.

"heh. figured they were lying," sans shook his head.

"What do you mean?" 

"those two came through here about twenty or so minutes ago, uh, i can't remember the exact time," sans scratched his head. "laurel told me something about you telling them they had to be back in ten minutes? made it sound like you gave them permission to head out on their own."

"Oh, I see," Robin raised an eyebrow. "Where did they go?"

"down there to check out the lower docks," sans pointed to the pass across from them.

"Thanks," Robin said, turning away from the skeleton to make for the docks.

"hey, don't be too hard on them. don't think they meant any harm. they were probably just taking a _bored_ walk, heheh," sans called out to Robin.

Robin paused for a moment, but decided not to react to the horrible pun and continued on their way.

Glowing waters burned their eyes as they scanned the area for signs of their siblings. Picking up their skirts, they headed down to look more closely for their siblings.

“Bell! Laurel! Where did you go!?” Robin called out.

Bell and Laurel crouched further into the seaweed they were hiding in, hands clapped over their mouths to keep from getting caught and facing repercussions they'd never expected to face for wandering off.

Robin entered the clearing where the two children were hiding, looking around the tiny space. They spied the tiny splotch of seaweed in the middle of the room and remembered how well someone could hide in just a few stalks of that stuff.

"I'm not mad, you guys, I promise!" Robin announced. "Look, just come out so we can get going, okay? We still have a long way to go and it's dangerous down here! If we split up, who knows what could happen!?"

Laurel and Bell exchanged guilty looks. They hadn't meant to worry Robin or any of their other siblings, they'd just wanted to take a look around. Nodding at each other, they agreed to get up and face the consequences instead of worrying their family anymore. However, the looks they were giving each other indicated they wanted the other to get up first and break the ice.

Robin noticed movements in the seaweed and began to walk towards it when a pair of hands grabbed them roughly from behind. One armored bicep clamped down over Robin’s their chest while the monster’s free hand clamped over their mouth. The Head of the Royal Guard was so tall that Robin's feet dangled more than a foot off the ground when she hauled them up into her arms.

Robin kicked out against Undyne with all their might. They fiddled with the plastic knife in their hand, trying to make a jab so they could get free, but ended up dropping it to the swampy ground with an unceremonious _splat_.

“Quit your squirming, you little punk!” The towering fish monster snarled at Robin. Robin stopped moving immediately, squeezing their eyes shut and letting a few petrified whimpers slip through Undyne's fingers. "I've got some questions for you; so, you're coming with me!" Undyne turned and began to head out of the clearing, boots kicking up mud as she went. 

Bell went to stand and help Robin, but Laurel dragged them back down and shook their head.

“You want her to get you too!?” Laurel whispered.

“We have to do something!” Bell insisted, peeking worriedly through the seaweed after the diminishing figure.

“Come on, let’s go find Alex and the others,” Laurel said, standing up and stepping out of the seaweed. Pushing their bangs off their head, they stared after Undyne as she towed Robin away. 

As Bell stepped out behind Laurel, something fluttered by in the breeze that they caught as it passed. Opening their hand, Bell found Robin’s hair ribbon crumpled in their palm. With some difficulty, they tied the ribbon around their wrist and resolved to give it back to Robin when they rescued them. They walked over to where Laurel was crouching in the muck and knelt next to them, temporarily overlooking how dirty their ballet shoes were getting.

“Robin’s knife,” They murmured, gesturing to the plastic blade cradled in their right hand. Their left hand was busily scrawling in their raggedy notebook they’d balanced on their knee. “I’ll hold it until we get them back.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, stop scribbling notes and let’s _go_!” Bell snapped, almost hyperventilating. They felt bad for yelling at Laurel, but not as bad as they did about Robin getting caught because of them.

“Bell...you don’t think that…” Laurel stood up, rubbing the back of their neck. “...Undyne’s going to…”

“Dammit,” Bell whispered, their eyes flying wide at Laurel's suggestion. “We’ve gotta go! _Now_ !!”  
  
The two bolted out of the clearing, calling the others’ names desperately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *kicks a leg out* Sorry if the next chapter takes a little time to get up; like I said I'm kind of busy this week. But!! I promise it will come soon!!!


	10. Run!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> R U N

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually didn't take me so long!

Undyne burst through the waterfall and into the secret cave it concealed. With an aggressive shove, she finally let go of Robin. They slammed roughly into the cave wall and fell to the ground, scraping their knees against the rocky floor. Pressing their back against the wall, Robin looked up at Undyne, trembling.

“What do you want?” Robin squeaked, hands shaking as they reached up to push their loose hair off of their face.

“HEY! I’ll ask the questions here!!” Undyne shouted, jabbing a webbed finger at Robin. Lifting her hands to her head, Undyne removed her helmet and sneered down at the human she’d caught.

“Y-Y-You’re Undyne, I take it?” Robin asked, pressing themselves further back. “The Head of the Royal Guard?”

“That’s right,” Undyne narrowed her eyes. “And you’re the human standing in the way of everyone’s hopes and dreams. You and those other six brats you cart around!”

Robin took a deep breath and then looked up at Undyne with a steady gaze. “Why didn’t you just kill me back in the swamp then? Y-You said you had questions for me. So, why not ask me and get to the point?”

Undyne smirked. “You’re one smart-mouthed kid. But, you are right,” she admitted. “There is a reason I didn’t kill you on sight, human. Every time I see you, looking scared shitless huddled with your little human family...you look so damn familiar. Have we met before?" 

"Uhhm," Robin looked to the side, unable to tell anymore if it was sweat or water dripping down their forehead. "I don't...think so...?" 

"Hmm," Undyne put one hand on her hip, looking thoroughly unconvinced. 

"So, uh," Robin cleared their throat, tentatively pushing up off the ground. "Is that it? Can I go?" 

"Not so fast!" Undyne snarled, whipping out one of her magic spears and pointing it at Robin until they lowered themself back down to the ground. "There's another reason I grabbed you up, you human. _You're wearin' it._ " 

Robin raised an eyebrow, looking down at their outfit and then back up at Undyne, a breath of laughter stirring up in their throat. “Are you...hitting on me?”

“ _WHAAAAAT!?_ ” Undyne roared, going red in the face. “Don’t be ridiculous! I would never hit on a human!! I eat punks like you for breakfast!!!!”

“Sorry,” Robin choked back a laugh at the warrior’s reaction, trying to remember how terrified they were. “What is it then?”

“Your _robe_. That emblem. _Where did you get it?_ ” Undyne demanded.

“Uh, well, I...um..” Robin stammered, fiddling the material between their fingers and wondering what answer would result in the least painful death. “...I found it?”

“HA! LIES!” Undyne shouted. “The only place you’d be able to find that material is King Asgore’s Castle! And since you’re still alive down here in Waterfall, I doubt you found it there. So, why don’t you tell me the truth?”

Robin hesitated, looking around Undyne for an escape route but finding no easy way to evade Undyne’s hulking form. Taking a deep breath, they told Undyne the truth.

“My mother made it for me,” They said.

Undyne narrowed her eyes. “That’s one lie too many! You expect me to believe your human mother knows anything about the underground’s history!?”

“But she’s not-”

“ENOUGH!” Undyne silenced Robin, grabbing them by the neck of their robe and dangling them off the ground. “I’ve heard enough of your lies! You humans make me sick! Trapping us down here and then taking our culture for your fashion statements!? You don’t deserve to wear that symbol! I should rip it right from your chest along with your disgusting human soul!!”

“Rip this!” A musical voice rang out before Bell came crashing through the waterfall, followed closely by Alex.

Bell spun in a hurried pirouette, sticking their leg out and landing a hard kick to Undyne’s armored back. The kick didn’t do much damage, but it did shock Undyne enough to slacken her grip on Robin who dropped to the ground in a heap of rumpled purple fabric. While Undyne turned to face Bell, Alex rushed forward and yanked Robin up by the wrist.

“Bell, run!” Alex barked.

“Welp, gotta go!” Bell waved, fleeing the scene with a little salute to Undyne.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU BRATS!!” Undyne shouted as Alex bolted out of the cave, dragging Robin with them.

“How’d you know where I was?” Robin asked as they ran beside Alex, skirts gathered in their arms.

“We followed the echo flowers and then followed the sound of her yelling,” Alex laughed, pushing through a patch of seaweed. “Think she’s mad?”

“Maybe,” Robin said, looking over their shoulder at the enraged warrior chasing after their group, spear in hand.

“WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU PUNKS I’M GOING TO SHISH KABOB YOUR SOULS ON MY SPEAR AND SERVE THEM TO KING ASGORE!!” Undyne snarled.

“Yeah!? Then come and get me, you big blue fishstick!” Bell shouted at Undyne, sticking their tongue out and running backwards so they could see Undyne’s reaction. “I bet you couldn’t catch me if I were running backwards! Oh wait, _I already am_!!”

“NGAAAAHHHHHH!! GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!” Undyne roared.

“Get up here and fight _me_!” Bell challenged.

“Bell, maybe stop antagonizing the Head of the Royal Guard when she’s on a mission to kill you!?” Robin called over their shoulder. “Just a suggestion, though!!”

“She’s all talk,” Bell waved a dismissive hand in Undyne’s direction, turning back around. “I don’t believe a word she says, she’s never even _seen_ a human before this.”

“Doesn’t mean she won’t kill you,” Alex huffed, jumping over the seed bridge and straight to the other side.

“I would love to see her try,” Bell scoffed, leaping across the bridge ahead of Robin.

“Keep it up, I’m sure she’ll make your wish come true,” Robin panted, not even attempting to jump across the water.

As Robin’s bare feet ran over the petals of the bridge seeds they’d planted earlier, they wondered how they’d ever outrun Undyne. The answer came when they entered the next room and saw Bell throwing bridge seeds into a random part of the water.

“What are you doing!?” Robin shouted, gesturing to the bridges that they had already grown that led to the next room.

“Come on,” Alex insisted, grabbing Robin by the wrist and pulling them along as Bell placed the fourth seed and a new bridge sprouted up.  

Bell ran across the bridge and Alex pushed Robin to follow. Robin’s head was still spinning when they came over to the other side of the bridge and found themself in a small hidden room.

“What is this pl-”

“ROBIN!” Hop rushed up out of nowhere, throwing their arms around their oldest sibling’s neck and squeezing them tightly as they began to cry. “I was so scared you were gonna die!”

Alex, still panting from having to outrun Undyne, held a finger to their lips. “Hop, sh-”

But they were cut off when Twain burst out sobbing and threw themself onto Robin as well. Robin sat stunned as the two younger children sobbed into their shoulders, trying their best to soothe them.

“I’m okay, guys, sh,” Robin murmured, patting both Hop and Twain’s backs in tandem as all three of them settled to the ground.  
  
Alex stood close to the bridge, listening for sounds of Undyne. On the other side of the wall, sounds of clanking armor and disgruntled snarling grew and shrank over the next few minutes. Eventually, Alex seemed satisfied that Undyne was out of earshot and sat down themself.  
  
“How did you find this place?” Robin asked.  
  
“We didn’t, Frisk did.” Hop pulled back from Robin with a sniff, wiping their face on their sleeve. “They were trying to tell you about it earlier but you guys didn’t listen.”  
  
“Oh,” Robin looked towards Frisk who sat on an old waterlogged bench, one of the only items in the small room. “I’m sorry, Frisk.”  
  
Frisk smiled and waved their hand to let Robin know they were forgiven; in their other hand they held a quiche.  
  
“So, what did Undyne want?” Bell asked.  
  
“She wanted to know about my robe,” Robin said, shifting Hop and Twain around in their arms so they could straighten out the embroidered emblem on the front of their robe. “She wanted to know why I was wearing this symbol. I tried to tell her that my mother had made it for me but she assumed I meant a human. She was really angry I had it on.”  
  
“Lucky she didn’t kill you,” Alex slumped down next to Robin. “When Bell and I came in it looked like she was about to do you in. You’ve gotta be more careful, Rob. I told you it was dangerous!"  
  
Robin chewed on their fingernail, embarrassed at having had to be the damsel in distress that put everyone behind. Their ears burned bright and they couldn't even make eye contact with anyone else in the room.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Alex," Robin stammered. "I wasn't-I just wanted-I know it was stupid, I-"  
  
"Don't be so hard on them, Alex," Laurel spoke up from where they’d been hanging back near a single echo flower that grew in the small space.  
  
"And you two!" Alex pointed at Bell and Laurel, who both jumped back about six inches each as they braced for the eruption Alex was building up to.  
  
"Have you lost your minds!?" Alex whispered tersely, trying to refrain from shouting in case Undyne was still around. “Because of you two, Robin could have been killed! Was your little rendezvous worth it!?”  
  
"No..." Bell blushed, feeling even more guilty than they already did. "We were wrong to run off like that. I'm sorry."  
  
"Well, you'd better be!" Alex seethed. "You two are the oldest after Robin and I, you should-"  
  
"Alex," Robin spoke up, finding their voice once they saw their siblings getting snapped at. "They obviously know what they did was wrong and I am sure they have learned their lesson. Let's not make them feel worse than they already do, alright?"  
  
Alex took a sharp breath in through their nostrils and let it out slowly. "Fine," they agreed. "Let's just get out of here."  
  
"My thoughts exactly," Robin said, standing up with Twain and Hop.  
  
"Robin, wait!" Bell called out, holding their ribbon up to them.  
  
"Oh, my ribbon!" Robin smiled, taking the ribbon in their hands and tying their damp hair back from their face.  
  
"Don't forget your knife!" Laurel added, bringing the toy out of their pocket.  
  
"Thanks you two, I thought I'd lost these for good," Robin said, tucking the toy knife into their own pocket.  
  
"Robin, I-" Laurel faltered, looking ashamed.  
  
“Yeah?” Robin asked, kneeling down in front of them. "What is it, honey?"  
  
"I'm..." Laurel tried again, tears growing in their eyes. "I'm just really sorry, okay!?"  
  
Robin blinked. Laurel had yelled the apology like a defensive argument and was now starting to sob right in front of everyone. Robin's face softened and they wrapped their arms around Laurel.  
  
"It's alright, Laurel, I forgive you," Robin murmured, rubbing their sibling's back. "I'm okay now. Let's go, alright?"  
  
Laurel nodded, giving a big sniffle and wiping their eyes.  
  
Robin gave Laurel a pat on the shoulder and stood up. "So, how are we getting back across the water?"

* * *

"[You want me to stand on some random stranger's _face_!?](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/post/159100261851/can-i-just-give-it-up-to-my-own-personal-favorite)" Robin whispered harshly, gesturing to the Ferry their siblings had mentioned.

"Well, how do you think we got across?" Alex asked. "It's perfectly fine, Rob, the Ferry likes getting stepped on."

"Yeah, they like it so much they give you money for riding!" Hop jumped up and down.

"Hrmm..." Robin tapped their foot. "Well, I guess it's alright. Not like we have many other options."

"Great, I'll go first," Alex said stepping up to the Ferry. "Rob, you come after me and then-"

"No, no. I am not leaving these kids alone on the other side of the lake," Robin shook their head. "I'll go last."

Alex felt their face flush and looked from each of their siblings' faces to another. "B-But..."

"What?" Robin furrowed their brow.

"I don't want you to be alone," Alex muttered, crossing their arms. 

Robin smiled, laughing a little. "Alex, I'll be fine. Besides, it's my job to look after all of you, right? So, let me take the risk."

Alex grumbled, still not entirely convinced to let Robin go last.

"Would you feel better if you stayed on the phone with me until I get on the Ferry?" Robin suggested.

"Yes," Alex answered without hesitation, not afraid to admit they were nervous about their sibling.

"Okay, let's get moving then," Robin said, taking their phone out of their pocket.

The Ferry rides went off without a hitch. Robin was a little tired of getting soaking wet at every turn in Waterfall, but didn't complain otherwise. The group once again was passing by sans with his telescope.

"oh, hey kids," sans grinned. "good to see you guys again so soon. robin, you okay? looks like undyne got a little _carried away_ with you earlier back there."

"Yeah, and a lot of help you were," Laurel glowered at sans. "You couldn't have done anything to stop Undyne?"

"hey, man, i'm not one to argue with the head of the royal guard," sans shrugged.  "besides, undyne is always one step a- _head_ of everyone, i wouldn't stand a chance against her."

The groans rolled in at the pun.

"you really need to be on your _guard_ around her," sans chuckled.

"Goodbye, sans," Alex called as the group walked away from the grinning skeleton.

Bell and Laurel felt embarrassed just walking through the bright-watered marsh again and tried to rush through as fast as possible. Alex was on high alert, orbiting around Robin for any signs of Undyne. Frisk leaned in to listen to the Echo Flowers and flirted with a bunch of Moldsmals, completely at ease. Once they were a little ways into the marsh, Robin's phone rang again and again they pulled it out as fast as possible in the hopes Toriel was calling. And again, it was Papyrus.

"HELLO!! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!"

"Hi, Papyrus," Robin greeted, holding the phone away from their ear to preserve their hearing.

"REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES?" Papyrus asked. "WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW...HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY...MURDERY."

"You don't say," Robin checked to see if another hidden camera could be spotted, just to make sure their reaction to this phone call was being documented.

"BUT I BET YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY!!"

"I had a pretty good idea."

"AND BECAUSE YOU KNEW THAT...I TOLD HER WHAT YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE WEARING! A PURPLE ROBE! BECAUSE I KNEW, OF COURSE, AFTER SUCH A SUSPICIOUS QUESTION, YOU WOULD OBVIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES! YOU'RE SUCH A SMART COOKIE! THIS WAY YOU'RE SAFE AND I DIDN'T LIE!!! NO BETRAYAL ANYWHERE!! BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!!!"

Papyrus hung up and Robin stared down at the phone in their hand.

"These skeleton brothers just have impeccable timing, eh?" Bell smirked. "Sure you don't want to change, Rob?"

"No," Robin shook their head, walking forwards. "Undyne already knows what I look like pretty well...no point in trying to hide from her now."

* * *

"Hop, come on!" Bell whined from where they and their other siblings stood at the end of the one area.

Hop had spent the past twenty minutes talking with a bulbous sort of octopus monster named Onionsan, and was completely engrossed by the monster's tale of woe about their friends.

"All of your friends moved to an aquarium and left you!?" Hop exclaimed, ignoring Bell's cries of impatience. "That's awful!!"

"Yeah," Onionsan said. "And the aquarium's full, a-anyway, so, even if I wanted to, I...That's okay though, y'hear! Undyne's going to fix everything, y'hear!" 

"U-Undyne?" Hop repeated, backing up suddenly and glancing at Robin. 

"Yeah! I'm gonna get out of hear and live in the ocean! Y'hear!" Onionsan declared.

Hop turned away, looked down at the ground, and finally walked over to join their family.

"Hey...there..." Onionsan said. "That's the end of this room. I'll see you around! Have a good time! In Waterfalllllllllllllllllll"

Onionsan sank back into the waters and disappeared.

"What's wrong, Hop?" Robin asked, hanging back to check on their sibling.

"Oh, nothing," Hop kicked at the ground. "It's just not fair that things have to be like this, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," Robin nodded, offering their hand; Hop took it and followed their siblings to the next area. 

"Finally!" Bell breathed out as they stepped into the next area. "I thought we were never gonna-Uh-oh!"

Bell froze as they felt themself get pulled into battle. A fish monster, who had been hiding in the corner but somehow bumped into Bell anyways, sat facing away from all of the others. 

"Bell, are you okay?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bell assured their sibling, gazing at the monster's stats. "Okay...Shyren, what can I do for you?" 

Shyren's first attack began and ended within a single breath. Two lazy, meek music notes floated down to the ground on a wobbly current as Shyren gave a barely audible hum. Bell looked to where the notes had fallen and felt sad the monster couldn't even muster up the self-confidence to attack on their own. Shrugging at the possibility of damage to their HP, Bell used their turn to hum a little ballad to Shyren in the hopes they might come out of their shell.

Shyren turned around, smiling at Bell. She followed Bell's lead and hummed along. making their next attack much stronger. Bell smiled as a cascade of music notes swirled down at them. Leaping into action, Bell danced through the attacks easily; having flashbacks to old dance recitals back before they had fallen down.

Bell hummed some more. A crowd began drawing near, monsters pressing in from all sides and making the battle into a concert. Shyren hummed back and more notes fell. The other humans shifted nervously around so many monsters, but Bell seemed unconcerned as they continued their dancing.

The humming and dancing continued, Shyren and Bell working off each other to make their performances great. Laurel was glaring at sans as he sold tickets made of toilet paper, but that didn't stop the nonexistent seats from selling out. The crowd was throwing clothing now, a storm of socks showering down onto the battleground.

Shyren's attack ended and Bell landed on their feet. They began humming some more, but Shyren didn't seem to be enjoying the concert anymore. The pressure of fame and suffocation of the crowds had all gotten to her, and she ended up being the one who felt attacked. Her next attack was frenzied and aggressive, correlating directly with the anxiety she was having at the prospect of a lifetime of performing.

Bell barely made it through the attack without getting hit, but landed without damage nonetheless. Looking around at the crowds, Bell searched for the familiar faces of their siblings and found they couldn't even catch the glint off of Laurel's glasses. Turning to Shyren, Bell smiled softly and shrugged.

"Whadda ya say, Shy?" Bell gestured to the crowds. "Think it's time to say goodbye?"

Shyren smiled. Nodding at each other, Bell and Shyren agreed it was time to part ways and end the show for good. Raising their arms, Bell began to hum a farewell song. Shyren followed suit and her song filled the area. Bell danced through the floating notes, finding themself working hard to make the dance look effortless. A long stretch of music played on and Bell danced through every note; until the music came to an abrupt end and Shyren disappeared from sight, leaving 30G behind.

The crowds dissipated, leaving the seven kids behind; alone again. Bell's siblings came rushing up, grins on their faces.

"That was incredible, Bell!" Robin said. "Your dancing has never looked better."

"Thanks," Bell nodded, fighting back the blush in their cheeks.

"Wow, you perform so well with a partner, Bell!" Twain exclaimed. "Have you done that before?"

"Yeah, I have actually," Bell rubbed the back of their neck. "On the surface, you know...I had a twin and we used to do dance competitions together." 

"You have a twin!?" Hop gawked. 

"You never told me that," Laurel furrowed their brow.

Bell shrugged. "I don't really like talking about him. It makes me sad."

"Of course," Robin nodded understandingly, putting a hand to Bell's shoulder. "You don't have to tell us about it if you don't want to."

Bell nodded, not saying anything more and turning to walk away.  

"D-Did you know Bell had a twin?" Laurel turned to Alex.

"No, they never told me. But, I knew there had to be a reason they wanted to go home so badly," Alex said, crossing their arms. "Try not to take it too personal. Everyone has stuff they don't like to talk about."

"I guess," Laurel mumbled, scratching their ear.

The group continued on through Waterfall, passing a crumbled old statue soaking under a perpetual shower of water. There was a static sound emitting from it, but the structures at its feet were dry. Twain lingered for a moment, feeling sorry for the pathetic heap of rubble as the water continued to drip drip drip away at the stony surface. Someone had cared enough to erect the statue, but now it was only a decrepit memory no one cared to remember. Twain spared one last look at the statue before walking away to join their siblings.  
  
The next area was just a little space with a bucket of umbrella's in one corner and a sign reading "(Please take one.)" in the other. Twain's eyes lit up at the sight of the umbrellas and bolted over to take one.  
  
"Whoa, Twain!" Robin jumped as their sibling shot up under them to reach for an umbrella and then ran back out in the opposite direction.  
  
"Where are you going, buddy?" Alex called out.  
  
"Be right back!" Twain waved, disappearing into the previous room.  
  
The other siblings all exchanged confused glances before following Twain back to the room with the statue. Watching from the sidelines, the other six saw Twain stand before the crumbled statue and put the open umbrella on top of it. Twain stepped back and smiled at their handiwork, feeling better that the statue wouldn't have to be dripped on anymore.  
  
When the water stopped flowing onto the statue, though, a gentle tinkling began sounding from inside the statue. A music box was playing a gentle melody that drifted on the stale air in the underground and made the kids feel that much closer to the surface.  
  
Twain turned back to their siblings, flashing them a satisfied smile. The others leaned in the doorway, enchanted grins resting on their tired faces. Rejoining the group, Twain and the others headed back to the room with the umbrellas.

* * *

Each of them took an umbrella in their hands, even Laurel who would usually opt to share with Bell in situations like these. Bell noticed, and walked somberly beside their best friend through the rainy cavern.  
  
"Are you mad at me?" Bell asked, biting their lip.  
  
Laurel looked down at their shoes. "I just can't believe you never told me you had a twin."  
  
"Laurel, I'm sorry," Bell apologized. "It was something I wanted to forget and I thought if no one else knew, it would be easier for me to pretend he wasn't real."  
  
"So, why tell everyone now?"  
  
"Because we're going home," Bell replied, as if it were obvious. "I guess I'll see him again."  
  
Laurel twisted their face up, looking at Bell. "Do you think we'll all still be a family on the surface?"  
  
Bell was taken aback by the question. It was something they hadn't thought about; they'd been so focused on leaving, they hadn't realized what that would mean for the relationships they'd made in the underground. They looked down at the puddle they had stopped in.  
  
"I just don't know, Laurel," Bell murmured.  
  
Laurel went to say something else, but was interrupted by an excited child's voice.

“Yo, you guys got umbrellas? Awesome!” Monster Kid called out, running up to stand between Laurel and Bell. “Let’s go!”

The kids exchanged a few glances, but didn't say anything to Monster Kid. All eight of them continued down the cavern in silence, not a noise except for the sound of their feet splatting in the puddles. Alex and Robin both had mud covering their bare feet and while Robin picked their way daintily through the sopping ground, Alex just forged ahead and didn't let the rainwater bother them. Frisk was admiring their reflection in the puddles, winking and smiling at themself as they peered at the ground. 

"Man, Undyne is soooooooo cool!" Monster Kid said suddenly, towards the end of the cavern. "She beats up bad guys and NEVER loses! If I was a human, I'd wet the bed every night knowing she was gonna beat me up! Ha ha."

"Yeah, I would too," Robin rubbed their arms where Undyne had grabbed them and could feel that bruises had formed. Not saying another word, they continued ahead.

They all were silent for a while then, walking quietly through the next drippy corridor. Monster Kid was walking with Hop now, and stopped suddenly when they saw an Echo Flower.

"So, one time," Monster Kid began, grabbing the other kids' attention just with the presence of noise in an otherwise silent space. "We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The king - we had to call him 'Mr. Dreemurr' - volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming to school and teaching the class about responsibility and stuff."

"Figures that the king would like flowers," Alex muttered, thinking about Flowey's menacing sneer.

"That got me thinking..." Monster Kid continued, speaking a little louder. "YO! How COOL would it be if Undyne came to school!? She could beat up ALL the teachers!!" 

"WHOA!!" Hop lit up as they continued walking, forgetting for a moment that Undyne wanted to beat _them_ up. "That _would_ be cool! I hate having to do schoolwork!! Although, I don't know if I'd want Mom to get beaten up by Undyne..."

"Why would Undyne beat up your Mom?" Monster Kid asked.

"Our Mom is our teacher," Laurel explained, scribbling in their notebook. 

"OH! That must be why I've never seen you guys in school!" Monster Kid remarked. "Who's your Mom? Maybe my parents know her."

"Doubt it," Bell scoffed.

"Huh?" Monster Kid furrowed their brow.

"Mom, uh, doesn't get out of the house much," Twain explained.

"Oh," Monster Kid paused thoughtfully. "Well, maybe Undyne wouldn't beat up the teachers. She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!" 

The others didn't say anything, not wanting to have to tell Monster Kid about them being humans or Undyne wanting to kill them. They all crossed into the next passage and all stopped short at the image in the distance.

There, punctuated against the velvet darkness, was a magnificent castle off towards the end of the caverns that made up the underground. 

Laurel blinked at the hulking fortress. "Is that...King Asgore's castle?" 

Robin nodded. "It seems we can finally see the end."

The kids turned and looked at Robin. Their face looked paler than usual and they were grimacing like they were going to be sick.

"Let's leave," Alex said, turning to continue the journey.

The group wandered out of the rainy cavern and into another clearing with a bucket of umbrellas. Each kid put their umbrella away as they passed the bucket and walked to the end of the area, coming to a halt when they met a tall wall.

"Yo, this ledge is way too steep..." Monster Kid was saying. 

"Eh, it's not a problem," Alex began saying. "I'll just-"

"Yo, you wanna see Undyne, right...?" Monster Kid asked, turning to Frisk. "Climb on my shoulders."

Frisk obliged, climbing up onto Monster Kid's shoulders and pushing themself up onto the ledge. The other kids watched in silence, not sure how to react.

"Yo, you go on ahead," Monster Kid said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Hop called out. "We can just lift you up, you don't have to go."

"Don't worry about me," Monster Kid smiled. "I always find a way to get through!" 

Then, Monster Kid ran off, faceplanting as always. The other six looked up at Frisk, who was smirking down at them from atop the ledge; triumphant in finally being taller than their friends. 

"Well I guess we know who Monster Kid's favorite is," Alex raised an eyebrow and laughed as Frisk began patting a rhythm out on the top of their head; taking every opportunity to assert their new height. "Okay, guys, line up and I'll help you get up with Frisk the Giant over here."

Frisk stood back and waited while the rest of the kids climbed up onto the ledge with Alex's help, and then helped pull Alex up when they were the only one left.

Continuing to the next area, the group found themselves in a dimly lit section of the docks. Laurel read from the passages on the wall, telling about how the humans had attacked the monsters out of nowhere and without mercy. 

"More endless docks..." Alex observed as they walked forward. "I got a bad feeling about this." 

"Alex, please," Bell sighed, crossing into the next room which had even more docks. "Just because Undyne has attacked us on every dock we've stepped on in Waterfall, doesn't mean she's going to-"

Bell had stopped when a bright blue glow shone up under their feet.

"Oh, great!" Laurel groaned as more glowing dots popped up around the kids.

The dots appeared until all seven of them were encircled. Then, the glowing dots warped and giant blue arrows shot up around them.

Robin's eyes went wide and almost stumbled backwards off the dock when, on the lower levels, Undyne appeared in full armor. Turning around to their petrified siblings, Robin shouted a one-word order at all of them.

" _RUN!_ "


	11. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knocked in the garbage and attacked by a possessed dummy...but these kids aren't giving up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been M.I.A. for a few days, I have been very busy and am very tired.

Robin moved to make a run for it and felt an immediate pressure on their back. They thought one of their siblings had knocked into them by mistake, but then they felt two strong arms heft them off the ground and start carrying them as they ran. 

"Alex!?" Robin looked up at their sibling as they ran ahead. "Put me down! I can run by myself, you know!"

"Yeah, Alex, stop being so paranoi- _Oof!_ " Bell got interrupted when an arrow slammed them directly in the gut, sending them toppling back into Laurel's arms.

"Bell! You have to be more careful!" Robin scolded, leaning over Alex's shoulder to wag a disapproving finger at their younger sibling.

"[Hey, I didn't die, did I!?](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/post/157875404896/bell-is-such-a-shit-and-its-no-wonder-robin-has)" Bell called back, prancing forward. 

"Which direction..." Twain huffed, interrupting. "...is the way out?"

"Uhh...Not sure," Alex admitted. "I'm just trying to not get hit!" 

"You'd think the Head of the Royal Guard would have the guts to battle us face-to-face!!" Hop shouted down to the lower docks. 

"GET DOWN HERE AND I'LL SHOW YOU GUTS, TWERP!" Undyne roared up from below. 

"Hop, don't agitate her!" Robin warned then turned on Bell. "They get that from you!!"

"Yep," Bell gave a little salute. "Proud of it."

Robin groaned and looked forward. "Gosh, this dock is like a maze!" 

"I think I see a clearing up there," Alex said, pointing to a large spread of boardwalk. "Everyone stick together now!"

The group scrambled to the open area, struggling to stay together when blue dots kept popping up in between them at random points. Frisk seemed to have a better sense of direction than the others and strode ahead with confidence in the path they walked; it even ended up that Alex was the one following behind and Frisk was leading the group. The arrows shot up at more frequent and more erratic intervals and the kids hopped from foot to foot to avoid any more damage than they'd already sustained. Frisk crossed into the next area and the band of other humans followed.

They came onto a long narrow stretch of dock; the arrow attacks still continued, but diminished as the group reached the end of the dock. 

Laurel peered over the edge of the dock and saw a black nothingness loom up to greet them.

"Now what?" they wrinkled their nose, not sure what the next move should be.

Frisk looked at the dead end before them, shrugged, and turned right back around. The others followed again, not seeing a better solution.

"You know you can put me down now," Robin sighed when Alex still wouldn't let them out of their arms.

"Huh? What!? I'm afraid I can't hear you, Rob," Alex joked. "Look, I'll put you down whe-"

Alex stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of clomping armored boots. The other kids froze and looked ahead at the approaching figure of Undyne. She walked dead center of the docs, stalking towards the humans. The group huddled in on each other and winced, waiting for her to grab one of them up into a battle. But Undyne didn't start a battle. Instead, she stopped a couple of feet away from the children, swung her arm, and brought a score of arrows down onto the dock.

With a sickening crack, the dock began to break in half. Undyne stood and watched as the half with the humans broke and they fell away, screaming and clutching onto each other in horror as they fell into an unknown peril. 

* * *

_It sounds like it came from over here..._

_Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you..._

_Are you okay?_

_Here, get up..._

_..._

_Chara, huh?_

_That's a nice name._

_My name is-_

"Frisk! Frisk, are you alright!? Please, wake up!" 

Frisk's eyes shot open, their chest heaving with panicked breathing. Their vision focused and they saw Robin's concerned face sharpen into view. Looking slowly from side to side, they saw they had landed at the bottom of a waterfall along with their traveling companions.

 _From that height, we should have died,_ Frisk thought. Then, they felt the familiar prick and stroke of golden flowers and realized that, for the second time, a patch of flowers had saved them from a broken neck.

"How are these flowers even here?" came Laurel's familiar, inquisitive voice. "There's not even any dirt..."

"Well, however they got here, I'm glad they did," Alex mumbled from where they were still laying on their back, their feet dangling off of the edge of the flowers into the water that surrounded them. Letting their eyes fall closed, Alex took a shaky breath and reached up to pinch the bridge of their nose. "This place is whacky as all hell, I can't take much more of this." 

Robin reached out and patted Alex's waterlogged hair, then turned back to look at Frisk. "After we fell, you didn't wake up for a while," Robin explained, wringing out their long hair so it wasn't as wet when they retied their ribbon. "The rest of us just sort of got a little discombobulated, but you were out cold. Sure you're alright?"

Frisk nodded, still trying to process the flash of conversation they'd been dreaming about before waking up. 

"Hey! This place IS THE COOLEST!!" Hop shouted out suddenly. They had waded through the water and come to a huge pile of garbage. Turning back to the group, they brandished a battered microwave that had been gutted for parts. "Check this out!!"

"That's lovely Hop," Alex winked one eye open and grimaced at the filthy, damp garbage Hop was holding over their head. 

"Whoa, I haven't seen one of these since before I fell!" Bell exclaimed from another pile of garbage, pulling out a little virtual pet keychain game. "Damn, it's broken."

"That's probably why it's in the trash," Laurel muttered, tossing a third broken pen over their shoulder. 

"Man," Alex stood up and clapped an arm around Robin's shoulder. "This place is a real dump, eh?"

Robin side-eyed their sibling and elbowed them in the ribs. "You sure you're not actually sans' sibling?" 

"Twain, do you want that broken flyswatter?" Hop asked their sibling.

"Nah, you can have it, Hop," Twain shrugged, handing it over to them.

Hop shifted the pile of trash they'd accumulated to one side and grabbed the flyswatter up, fitting it into a cracked flower vase sticking out of the side of the pile.

"Hop, you can't take all of that trash with you!" Robin protested, trudging through the water to join their other siblings. 

"Aw, why not?" Hop whined, looking up at Robin with big pleading eyes.

"For starters, it's filthy," Robin said, unfazed by Hop's puppy dog eyes. "And then there's the matter of none of this is going to fit into your pockets."

"Hmph! I'll just carry it," Hop sniffed, holding their pile of trash close to their chest.

Robin raised their eyebrows, opening their mouth to speak and then snapping it shut again. They stood and thought for a second, before a smile crept slowly up their face. "Okay," they said.

"Really!?" Hop lit up.

"Yep," Robin nodded. "If you can carry it, you can take it with you."

"Awesome!" Hop rejoiced.

"Alright, everyone, let's get moving!" Robin announced. "We still have a long way to go and I'd rather not take a rest in piles of garbage if that's alright with all of you," they moved forward in the pools of rubbish-riddled waters with their head down, muttering self-soothing sentiments to themself as they went. 

The kids fell in line behind Robin as they moved through the dump. Frisk paused to look up to the top of the waterfall, but found their gaze didn't reach far enough. They looked to their side and found Robin staring upwards as well, their face falling a shade paler as the volumes of rushing water cascaded from the cavern's ceiling. Reaching out to them, Frisk took Robin's hand and led them into the next area where the others had left to. 

"This stuff is too heavy!" Hop was exclaiming as Robin and Frisk stepped through, turning to their eldest sibling and giving a shrug. "I didn't really want it anyways."

Robin smiled triumphantly to themself, giving a rusted bike's horn a gentle squeeze. A pathetic honk emitted from the horn, making Robin feel bad for the old bike. 

"Whoa, this looks like my old computer!" Laurel remarked, looking over an ancient desktop set. "Of course, I mean, mine had parts inside."

"Forget that," Bell called out from a little up ahead. "Laurel come check this out!" 

Laurel stood up and crossed to where Bell was holding a bright orange cooler.

"Wow, that thing looks brand new," Laurel raised their eyebrows in surprise. "What's in it?"

"These weird candy bars," Bell said, holding up two little aluminum-wrapped bars in their hand.

"Hey, that's astronaut food!" Twain exclaimed, bolting over to where Laurel and Bell were. "Wonder how it got down here...Can I have one, please?"

"Here, take 'em both," Bell tossed the freeze-dried food to Twain who stuffed it in their pocket.

Robin had gone ahead of everyone else and was holding a DVD case up to their nose for inspection.

"What is this!?" they asked, gesturing to the cartoon girl with cat ears on the cover of the case.

Laurel chuckled. "That's a case for an anime. Looks like someone was really excited to find it."

Robin looked at the claw marks marring up the anime girl cover. "I guess so. I don't even know what the hell anime is."

"It's a cartoon from Japan," Bell laughed, taking the case in their own hands. "Eugh, not a very good one by the looks of it."

"You have a lot of expertise in that area, Bell?" Alex smirked as they wandered even further up ahead, intrigued by a training dummy tossed in amongst the garbage. Reaching out, Alex tapped the dummy with their fist; they immediately felt bad, remembering the training dummy back in the Ruins Toriel had taught them how to interact with a monster with so many years ago. Turning away from the dummy, Alex headed up to wait by the exit. As they reached the doorway, a shifting in the water caught their attention.

The training dummy flashing a bright orange, two furious eyes bulging out of their stuffed head. The other humans looked on in astonishment as the dummy sunk down into the water and popped up in front of Alex.

"FOOL! You think you can hurt ME???" the dummy snarled in an irate voice. "I am a ghost that lives inside of a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too. Until...YOU CAME ALONG!"

"Me?" Alex gestured to themself, trying to recall any time they had willingly offended a training dummy.

"When you talked to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat..." the dummy continued. "But the things you SAID...! Horrible. Shocking. UNBELIEVABLE!!!"

"Alex, what did you say to their cousin!?" Laurel called out, trenching through the water to get as close as they could to their sibling.

"Nothing!" Alex insisted. "I only talked to that dummy in the Ruins once!"

"Well, you spooked my cousin right out of their dummy!" Mad Dummy continued. "HUMAN! I'll scare your soul right out of your body!"

Alex gasped as they felt themself get pulled into a battle.

"Don't attack!" Laurel shouted from the sidelines. "They're a ghost, it won't hurt them!!"

"Wasn't gonna," Alex muttered, sparing Mad Dummy.

"Futile. Futile! FUTILE!" Mad Dummy shrieked, beginning their first attack.

A small army of dummies popped up around Alex, each spewing fuzzy magic attacks at them. Alex whirled to avoid the attacks, running in a big circle as the dummies popped up in different spaces. The attacks kept going after they missed Alex, smacking into Mad Dummy and knocking their body askew.

"OWWWW, you DUMMIES! Watch where you're aiming your MAGIC attacks!" Mad Dummy paused, their eyes going huge. "Hey! You! Forget I said anything about MAGIC!!!"

Alex smirked and waited for the next attack. More of the same. Except this time, Alex knew where to redirect the attacks. This went on for a few rounds, all the while Mad Dummy talked about how they were going to take Alex's soul and use it to cross the barrier and then become a dummy in a fancy store. With each attack that hit them instead of Alex, Mad Dummy got more and more bent out of shape, literally and figuratively. 

"HEY GUYS!!!" Mad Dummy shouted, calling out all of their dummy minions so they could talk to them. "Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES!!! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me? Well...FAILURES! YOU'RE FIRED!! YOU'RE ALL BEING REPLACED!!!" 

Alex looked up in confusion as Mad Dummy sent their dummies away. 

"Now you'll see my true power: Relying on people that aren't garbage!" Mad Dummy cackled, prepping their next attack.

Mechanical whirs began to fill the room as Alex spared Mad Dummy again and the other kids looked around to see what was making the noise.

"DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!" Mad Dummy shouted and a score of little robots popped up out of the water.

Alex barely had time to register the name of the attack before a small rocket caught them in the back and took a chunk out of their HP. For the rest of the attack, Alex tried to dodge the rockets in the same way they'd dodged the dummies' attacks before. A few rockets launched into Mad Dummy's face before the turn ended, making them even angrier.

Mad Dummy shouted for the bots to try again. More missiles. But Alex was ready this time and dodged the rockets so they would explode on Mad Dummy instead. 

"DUMMY BOTS!! You're awful???" Mad Dummy shouted.

Another round of missiles. Alex spun around the entire battle ground in sequence, letting each missile loose in Mad Dummy's face. They suffered a few more scrapes, but came out of the round otherwise undamaged.

"DUMMY BOTS! FINAL ATTACK!!!" Mad Dummy announced.

The dummies from before showed up first, firing at Alex while the dummy bots fired rockets. Alex had to move fast to avoid both, but couldn't avoid a few bad hits to the chest and back. The turn ended and Alex found they only had a sliver of HP left. Falling to their knees, they looked up to see if Mad Dummy would finally give up.

"N...no way," Mad Dummy whispered to themself loudly. "These guys are even WORSE than the other guys!"

Mad Dummy raised their voice back to normal level. "Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES!! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!! I'VE GOT KNIVES!!!"

A glinting knife appeared in the air and took aim at Alex. Too exhausted to even muster up the energy to be afraid, Alex took a step slightly to the right and avoided the knife's jab.

"I'm..." Mad Dummy muttered. "Out of knives."

Alex sighed. "Great, so I can-"

"BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!!" 

"Thought not," Alex snapped their fingers as Mad Dummy continued. 

"YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU!!!" Mad Dummy screeched. "YOU'LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME...Forever. Forever! FOREVER!!!" 

Mad Dummy began cackling and Alex began groaning when something shot down from the ceiling and cut them both off. They looked like raindrops, but Alex recognized them as the tears of an old friend. 

"Wh...What the heck is this!?" Mad Dummy demanded. "Ergh...Acid rain!?!?! Oh, FORGET IT!! I'm outta here!" 

Mad Dummy left and Alex smiled upwards as Napstablook floated down. The other kids rejoiced as well, happy to finally see a familiar face.

"....sorry, interrupted you, didn't i?" Napstablook said meekly.

Alex shook their head, grinning as they wiped blood from a cut on their cheek. "No, Blook, you didn't."

"as soon as i came over, your friend immediatley left..." Napstablook continued. "oh no....you guys looked like you were having fun...oh no....i just wanted to say hi....oh no......................................."

The battle finally ended and Alex breathed a sigh of relief as their siblings ran up to clap them on the back.

Napstablook floated in front of the exit. 

"well...i'm going to head home now..." Napstablook said. "oh...umm....feel free to 'come with' if you want...but no pressure...i understand if you guys are busy...it's fine...no worries...just thought i'd offer..."

Napstablook floated away then, leaving the siblings alone in the garbage. 

"What a pleasant surprise!" Robin smiled after the ghost. "I haven't seen them in such a long time!!" 

"Napstablook's the BEST!!" Hop agreed. "Let's go to their house, please!!!"

Robin shrugged. "I don't see why not. Beats wading around in the garbage, and their house is probably the safest place to take a break in the underground for us."

"Yeah, since they're the only monster who doesn't seem to want to kill us," Alex said, wincing at the battle damage they'd sustained.

"Okay, let's go before you pass out," Robin said, draping their sibling's arm over their shoulders and helping Alex to the next room.

* * *

"oh...you really came..." Blook greeted the humans as they entered their home. "sorry, i...wasn't expecting that...it's not much, but make yourselves at home."

The group wandered into the little house. Alex immediately collapsed on the floor and closed their eyes, groaning at the aches in their body. 

"Alex, you should eat something," Twain suggested, pulling the refrigerator in the corner open and peeking inside. Napstablook floated over.

"oh...are you hungry..." Napstablook asked Alex from where they lay immobile on the ground. "i can get you something to eat..."

Napstablook pulled something out of the fridge and brought it over to Alex. It was like a sandwich, but transparent.

"this is a ghost sandwich..." Blook explained. "do you want to try it...."

"Why not?" Alex shrugged. They attempted to bite into the sandwich, but just phased right through it. 

"oh...nevermind..." Napstablook said. 

An awkward silence ensued and, surprisingly, Napstablook was the one to break it.

"after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage..." they said. "it's a family tradition...do you want...to join me...."

"I'm way ahead of you, Blook!" Alex called out.

"....heh....what about the rest of you....." Napstablook turned to the others.

The other kids nodded, all of them eager to lay down and chill for a few minutes before going back out into the brutal underground. 

"okay...follow my lead..."

Blook floated to where Alex was and laid down next to them. The other kids followed suit, laying down wherever there was space. 

"here we go...you'll lie down as long as you don't move. so...only move when you want to get up, i guess."

The kids lay back and felt their joints settle and untense as they began to chill with Napstablook. None of them wanted to get up, even Hop had momentarily run out of energy and was enjoying the calm for once. The space was quiet, not silent, but quiet; the sounds of dripping water and calming breaths filled the room and put everyone in a trancelike state of calm. Laurel closed their eyes for a moment and saw galaxies swirling behind their eyelids. Their eyes shot open to see what their other siblings were doing and found they had shut theirs as well, all of their faces serene and placid. Smiling, Laurel took a deep breath and shut their eyes again; letting the chill wash over them and bring them down...down...down....

* * *

Bell woke up in the middle of Napstablook's floor. Sitting up, they looked around and saw their other siblings had fallen asleep too. Napstablook floated next to Alex, not awake or asleep, just chilling. Quietly, so they didn't wake the others up, Bell crossed to the computer in the corner to check the time. When they did, their eyebrows shot up into their hairline at the date blinking in the task bar. 

"Laurel!" Bell shouted, suddenly unconcerned with waking up their siblings. "Laurel!! Laurel! Laurel!!!" 

"AH!!!" Laurel woke with a jolt, shooting into a sitting position.

The others woke up in similar fashion, jolting up with a shout.

" _Bell,_ " Robin clutched their chest, their orange hair flying in every direction as they shot up from where they'd been sleeping. " _Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?_ " 

"Nevermind," Bell waved their hands. "You guys...It's Laurel's birthday today!!" 

"Huh?" Laurel furrowed their brow, still processing the statement as the other kids fell into a celebration. 

"Happy Birthday!!" Bell exclaimed, crashing into their best friend and wrapping them in a big hug.

"Happy Birthday, Laurel!" the others joined in, wrapping their arms around their sibling and squeezing them tightly. 

Napstablook had begun playing a CD.

"a classic spooktune..." Blood explained as they creepy music wafted through the area. "they don't make songs like this anymore....

It sounded nothing like a birthday song, but Laurel appreciated the gesture.

"I'm sorry we can't throw you a party like we planned..." Robin drooped, looking sad as they thought of Home. "We had everything ready, too."

"Robin, it's okay," Laurel patted their oldest sibling's hands. "I didn't really want a party anyways."

"Well, I want to do _something_ for you. Here, uh..." Robin dug into their pockets and took out a few gold coins and dropped them into Laurel's hands. "Buy something you like at the next shop."

"Here," Alex stepped forward next, dropping a few more coins into Laurel's palms. "Happy Birthday, dude."

The other kids all stepped forward as well, each one giving Laurel some of their own coins. At the end of it, Laurel had more coins than all of their siblings.

"You guys, I can't take all of this," Laurel shook their head.

"Sure you can," Alex said. 

"Yeah, and don't you even _think_ about trying to give that money back!" Hop added. 

Laurel blushed, but didn't try to get their siblings to take the gold again. "Okay," they said, stuffing the gold into their pockets and standing up. "How long were we asleep for?"

"A few hours I guess," Bell shrugged. 

"We should probably get going then," Laurel suggested.

"I think we could stand to have a little break," Robin said. "Why don't we explore the area a little bit?"

The kids nodded in agreement, none of them really looking forward to continuing to another area in case Undyne was waiting for them. Waving goodbye to Napstablook, the group headed back out to the Quiet Area. They passed the house next to Napstablook's and wondered who lived there.

"Doesn't look like anyone lives there right now," Alex remarked. "Looks empty inside."

"Hmm," Robin tapped their fingers against their chin. Shrugging, they turned around to face their siblings. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You guys can go off and explore on your own for a little bit. But, I want you to go with at least one partner and I want you to keep your phones on. Understood?"

The kids agreed and quickly took off. Laurel and Bell bolted out of sight towards the shop and Twain, Hop, and Frisk all headed over to the Blook Family Snail Farm. Robin and Alex stood alone in silence. 

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Robin sighed.

"You said we had to have partners," Alex reminded their sibling.

Robin rolled their eyes. "I meant the little kids." 

"Well, not for nothing, Rob; but _you_ were the one to get caught by Undyne," Alex smirked as the two started strolling around the area.

"Okay, that's fair," Robin gave up, turning up to the right and pausing. "Oh my."

"Huh!" Alex remarked, gazing up at the house they'd come to. "Say, this house really reminds me of someone. Looks like..."

"It looks like the head of the Head of the Royal Guard," Robin finished, a shiver running up their spine. "That's where Undyne lives."

Alex looked up at the house and then back to Robin. Smacking their lips together, Alex silently wished they knew what to say to their sibling. But since they didn't, Alex settled for the next best option and looked for something to change the subject. "Hey, look who it is!" 

Robin turned to see who Alex was talking about and found them walking up to the Mad Dummy from earlier. 

"Long time no see, buddy," Alex remarked, putting their hands on their hips. "You work for Undyne, huh?" 

"What. What? WHAT!?" Mad Dummy shouted. "It's a living."

"Why would a ghost need to make a living?" Alex joked. Mad Dummy began to rumble, and Robin rushed forward.

"Are you trying to start another battle!?" Robin pulled Alex backwards. "You barely survived the first one. Let's just go before Undyne decides to stop by her house."

* * *

"Uuuuuuuuuuuggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! This game ** _SUCKS_**!!!!" Hop groaned after losing Thundersnail for a third time.

"oh.........looks like you encouraged your snail too much...." Napstablook explained. "all that pressure to succeed...really got to her...oh......."

"Ugh, whatever!!" Hop gave up, pushing away from the fence and going over to join Twain and Frisk in the snail pen.

"Hey, Hop, do you think Toriel has seen this snail?" Twain asked as they walked over, holding up a large blue snail.

"Hmmm..." Hop rubbed their chin as they inspected the snail. Frisk came pattering over, holding up another snail for inspection. "I don't think Mom has seen either of these snails."

"Shame," Twain said, setting the blue snail back down. "I'm sure she'd love them."

"Yeah..." Hop said. "Wait! I've got it! I'll call and tell her about it!!" 

"Great idea!" Twain smiled, jumping to their feet.

Hop dug their phone out of their pocket, dialing Toriel's phone number. They held the phone to their ear and waited while it rang. Usually, Toriel would pick up before the first ring was over. But this time, there was no answer.

"Sh-She didn't pick up," Hop said, looking sadly down at their phone.

"Here, let me try," Twain offered, taking out their phone and dialing Toriel's number. No answer. "She didn't pick up for me either."

Frisk took out their phone and dialed. They shook their head when no one answered for them either.

"Maybe she's busy," Twain suggested.

"No, I don't think so," Hop screwed their face up to keep from crying. "Come on, let's go somewhere else."

* * *

Laurel and Bell stepped into the shop and looked around. The walls were all embedded with crystals and the counter was being manned by an old tortoise monster in an explorer's outfit holding a magnifying glass. Laurel took an immediate shine to him and stepped right up to the counter, notebook out. 

"Woah there!" the monster greeted. "I've got some neat junk for sale!" 

To be polite, Laurel bought a Sea Tea and a Crab Apple before diving into their questions.

"What about you!?" Laurel lit up as they shove the items into their pockets. "You look like you've got lots of stories to tell."

"I've been around a long time. Maybe too long," the monster said. "Studying history sure is easy when you've lived through so much of it yourself! Wa ha ha!" 

Laurel laughed along; their eye catching on a familiar pattern on the back wall. "Hey, do you know what that symbol means?" 

"Eh? You don't know what that is?" the tortoise said disapprovingly. "What are they teaching kids in school nowadays...? That's the Delta Rune, the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom of Monsters. Wahaha! Great name, huh? It's as I always say...Ol' King Fluffybuns can't name for beans!" 

"Do you know what it means?" Laurel pressed further, their pencil flying to record everything the old monster was saying.

"That emblem actually predates written history," he explained. "The original meaning has been lost to time...All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes...Somethin' else. Most people say it's the 'angel' from the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Bell asked, now just as intrigued as Laurel.

"Oh yeah...The prophecy..." he continued. "Legend has it that an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. Lately, the people have been taking a bleaker outlook...Callin' that winged circle the 'Angel of Death.' A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free' us from this mortal realm...In my opinion, when I see that little circle...I jus' think it looks neat! Wahaha!"  

Bell and Laurel exchanged a look, even more interested.

"What about the King?" Laurel asked. "What can you tell us about him?"

"King Fluffybuns? He's a friendly, happy-go-lucky kind of guy..." the tortoise said. "If you keep walking around long enough, you'll probably meet him. He loves to walk around and talk to people."

"Why do you keep calling him Fluffybuns?" Bell grinned, resting their head on their hand.

"Oh, that's a great story!" he exclaimed. "....I don't remember it. But if you come back much later, I'm sure I'll have remembered by then."

"Hmm," Laurel pursed their lips, tapping their pencil against the counter. "What about Undyne?"

"Undyne? Yeah, she's a local hero around here. Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard," he said, squinting at Laurel. "Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who looked just like you...I'd watch your back, kid. And buy some items...It might just save your hide! Wa ha ha!" 

Laurel looked to Bell, frightened now.

"Maybe we should go find Robin," Bell said. 

"Yeah," Laurel nodded. "Uh, thank you! Goodbye!!" 

"Be careful out there, kids!" the tortoise called as Bell and Laurel left the shop.

The two exited the shop and looked around for signs of their siblings. Turns out, they only had to stand around for a couple moments before Robin and Alex came wandering into the clearing outside of the shop.

"Ah, fancy meeting you two here," Alex greeted. "I'm just gonna go buy some stuff and then we'll go find the other three, okay?"

"Sounds good," Bell said as Alex passed into the shop. "So, where did you two go?"

"Well, we found Undyne's house," Robin said. 

"Really!?" Laurel lit up. "How do you know it was her house!?"

"It's shaped exactly like her head," Robin explained. "And we called Papyrus to make sure. He said we should all go and hang out there sometime."

"Yeah," Bell snorted. "Like _that's_ gonna happen!"

Robin laughed. The three settled back and waited for Alex to finish up in the shop, leaning against the wall.

"Wonder where the other guys are," Laurel sniffed, looking around.

"Yeah..." Robin remarked. "Maybe I should call them..."

But before Robin could take their phone out, it began ringing. Robin took it out and saw Twain was calling.

"Hello? Twain?" Robin picked up. "Where are you guys? And what the heck is that music!? Temmie Village? Where is that? Okay. Okay. We'll be right there. Stay put and...is that Hop crying? Okay, we'll be right there. Love you too. Bye."

* * *

In the end, it wasn't all that hard to find Temmie Village. After Alex came out of the shop, the four oldest kids headed down into the next area. A path had already been lit using the luminescent mushrooms growing in the marshy ground. Following the trail, Robin kept an ear out for the music they'd heard over the phone. Unfortunately, they couldn't hear any music; but they did catch the sound of Hop's loud sobs. Following that sound to the bottom of the trail, the four kids entered what they assumed to be Temmie Village.

"hOI!! im temmie!!! and dis is my friend...temmie!!!" 

"hOI!! im temmie!!! and dis is my friend...temmie!!!" 

"hOI!! im temmie!!! don forget my friend!"

"Hi. I'm Bob."

Robin didn't know what to make of the little winged, cat-looking monsters. "What in the world...?"

"ROBIN!!" Twain's voice shouted out and they came barreling out of nowhere to wrap their arms around Robin's waist. "Thank God you're here! Hop won't stop crying!!"

The siblings looked over to where Hop was sitting in the corner, sobbing their eyes out and holding an armful of shredded construction paper. Frisk stood by, patting their shoulder and holding one arm over their own nose and mouth. 

The other kids headed over to their crying sibling and knelt down in front of them. 

"What's wrong, Hop?" Robin asked.

Hop gave a big sniffle and tried to get the words out. "I s-s-spent all of my m-money on these tem flakes...BUT THEY'RE JUST PAPER!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Hop broke into an even bigger bout of sobbing. "A-ANd the temmie r-running the shop w-won't give me all of my m-money back for them!! It's not faaaaaaair!!"

"Hey, it's alright, buddy," Alex said, trying to soothe Hop. "How about you and I make a trade? I'll give you one of my Crab Apples and you give me those...tem flakes. Okay?"

Hop wiped their eyes and blinked up at Alex. "O-Okay..."

Taking a Crab Apple out of their pocket, Alex handed it over to Hop and took the tem flakes into their own pocket.

"There," Alex grinned. "Now, let's get out of here, huh?"

Hop nodded profusely. Surprisingly, none of the other kids had any objections to leaving a new area so soon. As a matter of fact, they were all itching to leave as fast as possible. Literally. Apparently, they were all allergic to the temmies and were breaking out into hives.

Back on the glowing mushroom trail, the kids followed the path into the next room. There was another glowing trail there, but as the kids progressed into the room, the trail began to fade away and leave them in pitch darkness.

"What the hell!? I can't see a thing!!" Bell shouted out.

"Watch your language!!" Robin scolded.

"How can I watch my language when I can't even see two feet in front of me, huh!?" 

A chorus of groans erupted from the darkness.

"I don't even need to see to know that was Bell who made that horrible joke," Alex remarked. 

"How are we going to find our way out?" Twain asked.

"WE'RE LOST FOREVER!!!!" Hop cried. "WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND LIVE IN TEMMIE VILLAGE!! NOOOOOOOO!!!" 

"You guys..." Laurel sighed, exasperated. "Honestly!" 

The path suddenly lit up, and the other six siblings to spy Laurel with their hand on a lantern. 

"The light refracts off the crystals and keeps the path lit for a few moments," Laurel explained. "Let's hurry to the next one."

So, the group made their way through the darkening lantern room, quickly getting the hang of bumping the lanterns and lighting up the pathway. When they finally made it out of the room and into the next one, they found themselves in an even darker space with no lanterns or crystals in sight. 

"Oh fucking fantastic," Bell whined as they splashed into a cold stretch of water. 

"Will we ever be dry again?" Robin muttered, holding their skirts as high up as they could manage. 

"Hey, there's an echo flower up ahead!" Laurel called out, climbing out of the water and heading towards the single flower growing in the mud.

The other humans hurried to catch up, all of them gathering around to listen to the Echo Flower. It spoke out in a gruff voice that chilled every last one of them right down to their souls. 

"Behind you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I just realized while writing this chapter that Thundersnail rhymes with Undertale.


	12. NGAHHH!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, I bet your parents are really worried....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I originally planned to have the Undyne Battle in this chapter but it was getting pretty long with all the build up so it's going to be next chapter which will hopefully be written soon!!

"Behind you." the flower warned in a voice that sounded nothing like it wanted to help the seven humans anticipate the looming danger behind them.

Slowly, the group turned around to see what was coming their way. Twain, who had been at the back, was the first to see what the echo flower had been talking about; giving a terrified gasp, they backed up quickly and pressed their entire family up against the wall. 

Clomping metal boots shone in the dim light of the cavern; stomping, scraping, encroaching closer and closer with each step. Undyne stepped into view, all broad shoulders and malcontent, covered head to toe in gleaming armor. Although her face was hidden under her helmet, the humans felt her malignant glare as sharp as if she had impaled them on one of her arrows. 

Robin trembled as the warrior drew closer; still feeling the keen pain of fresh bruises on their body from their previous meeting with the Head of the Royal Guard. Staring up at Undyne, Robin could barely stagger a breath from their petrified lungs.

Undyne took a breath to suggest she was going to say something. Laurel peered over Bell's shoulder where they were hidden, intrigued to hear what Undyne was going to say. Bell's lower lip quivered like they were about to cry and they kept glancing to Robin in concern, scared that Undyne had come to finish the job on their oldest sibling. Alex stood with Hop in their arms, mouth curled into a snarl and reflexively poising themself to stand guard in front as many of their siblings as they could manage. Twain was shuddering as they stood frozen in front, unable to move as Undyne stood staring them down. Frisk kept a firm hold around Robin's leg, staring up at Undyne in curious terror.

"Seven," Undyne finally spoke, her voice matching the gruff tone of the echo flower's message. "Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king...King Asgore Dreemurr...will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity...And give them back the suffering and pain we have endured."

Robin let out a cautious breath, afraid that too much noise might set Undyne off. But Undyne was unruffled, continuing only to gaze sternly down at the group of children before them.

"Understand, humans?" she asked. "This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your souls, or I'll tear them from your bodies."

The kids drew back when Undyne suddenly changed her stance and pulled her magic arrow out. Aiming at Twain, Undyne bolted forward. Twain heard a chorus of their siblings' frightened screams at the same time they felt their soul get pulled into a battle.

 _This is it,_ Twain thought. _You'd better win, Twain. Win or just...just give up...Yeah, you don't stand a chance anyways. Why not just give up and-_

"Undyne!!! I'll help you fight!!!" Monster Kid burst out suddenly from a nearby patch of seaweed. They looked from Undyne to their friends and then back to Undyne and then back and forth like that for a while. 

"YO!!!! You did it!!!" Monster Kid shouted joyously at the other kids. "Undyne is RIGHT in front of you!!! You've got front row seats to her fight!!!"

" _Oh yeah!_ We've got GREAT seats, huh!? Right in the action!!" Bell shouted sarcastically, close to hysterics, arms wrapped tightly around Twain.

Monster Kid gave Bell a strange look, then looked between them and Undyne again.

"...wait." Monster Kid said. "Who's she fighting??? 

 Undyne threw their arrow away, giving a frustrated sigh. Reaching out, she grabbed Monster Kid by the ear and hauled them away. 

"H-Hey!" Monster Kid exclaimed as they got pulled away. "You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?" 

As quickly as she had come, Undyne vanished again. The kids all started breathing again, staring after Undyne in fear that she'd change her mind and turn around.

Twain turned away from Undyne's diminishing form and buried their face in Alex's chest, sobbing into the front of their older sibling's shirt. Alex hugged Twain tightly, rubbing their back and murmuring words of comfort into their ear.

Bell felt their legs wobble and slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the mud ruining their tutu and slippers. All of the taunting words they'd shouted at Undyne earlier didn't do anything to comfort them now as they realized the cold, hard truth: they were terrified of Undyne. They clutched either side of their head and tried to steady their breathing, not wanting the tears to come but feeling them run hot down their face anyways.

"Bell," Robin spoke, touching their sibling's shoulder gently. "Bell, look at me." 

Slowly, Bell lifted their head enough to gaze into Robin's warm amber eyes. 

Robin placed a hand on either side of Bell's face and held their gaze. "You're safe, Bell. You're here with us and we're all safe and we're all together. Nod if you understand me."

Bell nodded their head in rickety jerks, feeling like rusty machine that hadn't been used in a long time. Looking back up at their sibling, they felt their face crumple and dove forward, wrapping their arms around Robin. They finally let their sobs loose, soaking the front of Robin's still damp robe. Robin rubbed their sibling's back soothingly as Bell shuddered and sobbed, murmuring words of comfort into their coily hair.

"It's alright, Bell," Robin murmured, rocking them back and forth as if they were still just the eight-year-old kid who'd fallen down seven years ago. "Undyne left, we're okay."

"S-She's coming b-b-back," Bell hiccuped, pressing their face further into Robin's shoulder.

"I know," Robin said miserably.

Frisk stepped forward and tapped Bell on the shoulder. Bell looked up with watery eyes at the younger kid. Frisk signed something to Bell, a serious look on their face.

"Frisk says they won't let Undyne kill you?" Laurel straightened their glasses, looking at Frisk to make sure they got it right. Frisk gave them a thumbs up. "Took a class on sign language when I was younger, I've been trying to remember it more since Frisk came along."

Bell smiled up at Frisk. "Thanks," they whispered, still shaken up. "L-Let's go, huh? It's too dark in here."

The other kids nodded, straightening up and heading over to a path that had just lit up at the back of the cavern. 

* * *

" _Sorry, it's just funny...That's my wish too._ "

Twain backed away from the echo flower, giving its petals a gentle pat. The passing conversation they'd been listening to made them sad for all of the monsters in the underground and, no matter how they tried to forget, they couldn't get Undyne's words about humans causing pain and suffering for monsters out of their head. 

"Twain, buddy, you still in here?" Alex peeked their head back into the grove of echo flowers. "Everyone's waiting for you."

"Sorry," Twain said, trudging out of the water and heading into the other room. 

Checking to make sure Twain had caught up with the others, Alex looked back into the room of echo flowers. Taking a deep breath, they took out their phone and dialed Toriel's number.

"Come on, Mom...Come on...." Alex murmured, wanting desperately for Toriel to pick up just so they could hear her voice again. But no one answered.

Shaking their head, Alex stuffed the phone back in their pocket and turned to catch up with the others. But before they could leave, they heard a peculiar sound coming from one of the echo flowers. A familiar voice. Their mother's voice. 

Jumping down into the water, Alex waded over to the flower that was saying words in Toriel's voice; leaning over, they pressed their ear close to the flower to listen in. 

"Where oh where could that child be...?" Toriel's voice was saying. "I've been looking all over for them......"

Alex stared down at the flower in confusion. Before they could come to their own conclusions, the voice suddenly changed. A nasty cackle Alex knew all too well shredded into their ears.

"Hee hee hee," Flowey's voice growled out of the echo flower. "THAT's not true. She'll find another kid, and instantly forget about you. You'll NEVER see her again." 

Alex stumbled backwards as the flower laughed cruelly in their face. Bolting to their feet, Alex ran from the room; wiping tears from their eyes.

They ran into the next area as fast they could, finding their siblings had fallen into discord over whether or not to cross the bridge without Alex or not. Robin was in the middle, clapping their hands to get the younger kids' attention.

"I don't care what anyone thinks, we are not crossing this bridge until everyone is present and accounted for!" Robin spoke over their bickering siblings. Just then, they caught sight of Alex. "Alex, there you are! What took you so long?"

"S-Sorry, I got sidetracked by the, uh, echo flowers," Alex said, eyes shifting uncomfortably.

"Are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick," Robin furrowed their brows in concern.

"I'm fine," Alex insisted. "Can we-Can we just get the hell out of Waterfall? Those flowers are starting to creep me out."

"Of course," Robin nodded, turning towards the bridge. "I think the exit is just through that tunnel up there."

The kids crossed the bridge single file, Laurel at the front and Twain at the back. Just as Twain was about to get off on the other side of the pass, a familiar voice shouted out behind them.

"Yo!" Monster Kid called.

Twain turned away from their waiting siblings and regarded the approaching monster. 

"Yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but...I wanna ask you something," Monster Kid began, shifting uncomfortably. "Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before...Um...Yo...You guys are human, right? Haha."

"Took you long enough," Bell rolled their eyes

Twain turned and gave Bell a cross look and then turned back to Monster Kid, giving a shrug and a nod.

"Man! I knew it!" Monster Kid exclaimed. "...well, I know it now, I mean...Undyne told me, um, 'stay away from those humans.' So, like, um...I guess that makes us enemies or something."

Twain's shoulders slumped, sad at the thought of losing Monster Kid's friendship.

"But I kinda stink at that, haha," Monster Kid continued, nervously eyeing the group of humans. "Yo, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?" 

"Huh!?" Twain backed up, puzzled by the request. "No!" 

"Yo, what? So I have to do it?" Monster Kid gawked. "Here goes nothing...Yo, I...I hate your guts."

Twain felt their eyes water at the harsh words and struggled to keep from crying. 

Monster Kid looked ashamed. "Man, I...I'm such a turd. I'm...I'm gonna go home now." 

Monster Kid turned to leave. As they crossed the bridge, their foot caught on a loose board and they tripped, falling over the edge. Since they had no arms, they had to grip onto the ledge with their teeth. 

Twain went to run forward and help, but stopped at the sound of clomping metal boots. Undyne stepped into view again, stopping in front of Twain. Twain froze and looked up at Undyne in terror and then down at their friend hanging on to the bridge's edge. 

"Twain, just leave 'em, please!" Bell shouted; half onto the bridge themself, trying to make a grab for Twain.

Shaking their head, Twain swallowed their fear and forced themself to look directly into Undyne's face. Bursting forward, Twain grabbed Monster Kid and pulled them up to safety. 

Monster Kid looked up at Twain, relieved. Then, in a move that shocked everyone, Monster Kid turned on Undyne and spoke to her.

"Y...y....yo...dude," Monster Kid stammered. "If...If y-you wanna hurt my friend...You're gonna have to get through me, first." 

Undyne backed up, shocked. She kept backing up until she just turned around and left. The humans stared after her in shock and then looked over to Monster Kid in admiration.

"She's gone..." Monster Kid turned back to Twain. "Yo, you really saved my skin. Guess being enemies was just a nice thought, haha. We'll just have to be friends instead."

Twain beamed, happy that they had one more monster on their side and one more friend in their life.

"...man, I should REALLY go home..." Monster Kid sighed. "I bet my parents are worried sick about me!" 

Hearing about worried parents and going home made all seven of the kids turn sad for a moment and, as Monster Kid walked away, they couldn't help but wish they could just go home too. Monster Kid turned back around and smiled at their human friends. 

"Later, dudes!" they called and then turned and ran away. 

* * *

The group trudged on, crossing another bridge and finally coming to what looked like the tunnel to exit Waterfall.

"Welp, it's been fun, Waterfall!" Bell saluted in the direction of the watery area. "But it's time to say goodbye!!"

Bell took the lead and went to head into the tunnel, but stopped short with a gasp when they glanced up to the top of it. The others looked up and saw Undyne standing atop the stalagmites that made up the tunnel. Again, the kids found themselves frozen where they stood; unable to even make a run for it.

"Seven," Undyne spoke, her back turned away from the humans. "Seven humans souls, and King Asgore will become a god. None. That's how many we have collected thus far."

Undyne turned around then, looking down at the seven humans before her. 

"Understand?" she asked. "Through your seven humans souls, this world will be transformed. First, however, since you have made it this far...I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started, long ago..." 

Laurel overcame their fear just enough to make a grab for their notebook. But, before they could even find a clean page to write on, Undyne shouted out again.

"No, you know what!?" Undyne said. "SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?! NGAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

Undyne turned away and threw her helmet off, looking back at the humans over her shoulder, her single eye glinting. 

"YOU!" Undyne turned back around to glare at the humans. "You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys' history books made me think humans were cool...with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen..."

Laurel wrinkled their nose up at Undyne. "What are you t-"

"BUT YOU RUNTS!?" Undyne cut Laurel off. "You're just a bunch of cowards! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again! And let's not forget that wimpy goody-two-shoes schtick! Oooh! We're making such a difference by hugging random strangers! You know what would be more valuable to everyone!? IF YOU WERE ALL DEAD!!!" 

The humans winced away from the harsh words, looking to each other for what to do.

"That's right, humans!" Undyne sneered. "Your continued existence is a crime! Your lives are all that stand between us and our freedom! Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment! But we're not nervous at all. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose! Now, humans! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhuhu!"

"Wait a minute!" Laurel yelled up to Undyne, waving their arms. "You can't fight us all at once!"

"What was that, punk!? Are you calling me weak!?" Undyne growled. "I'll fight you all with one hand tied behind my back!" 

"Uh...well..." Laurel rubbed the back of their neck. "What if we...Uhm..."

"How about a bet!?" Bell ran up next to Laurel and jabbed a finger in Undyne's direction.

"HA!" Undyne threw her head back and laughed. "You want to make a bet with me!? What did you have in mind, pipsqueak!?" 

"Uh..." Bell faltered this time, their hand falling back to their side. 

"I bet you that you can't even beat one of us in battle! Kill one of us, and the remaining six will surrender to you!" Laurel called out. "Sound good?" 

" _Laurel, what are you doing!?_ " Alex whispered harshly.

Laurel winked over their shoulder and turned back to Undyne. "Well!?"

"Hmm," Undyne rubbed her chin. "Alright! It's a bet, kid! Send your toughest fighter up to face me and if they can win, I'll let you all pass into Hotland. HA! _If_ they can get past one round with me!"

"Deal!" Laurel nodded, turning back to their siblings and huddling them up.

"What did you guys do!?" Robin asked, frantically looking between Laurel and Bell. "All seven of us probably couldn't take her down and you want one of us to fight her alone!?" 

"Look," Laurel pushed their glasses up and looked into the frightened faces of their siblings. "If we can get through this tunnel, we'll be in Hotland, right? She's an aquatic monster, she won't be able to stand the heat with all of that armor. If one of us can distract her long enough so we can get through to Hotland, she won't be able to fight there!"

The siblings all looked at each other with anxious expressions. 

"Plus," Laurel added when their plan was met with silence. "If one of us does die, it's better than all seven of us going in one fell swoop."

"No it isn't!" Alex snapped. "W-What the hell, Laurel!? I don't want to get to the surface if we can't go all together."

"Then whoever fights better not die," Hop said.

"No one is fighting that crazy fish alone!" Alex said. 

"I'll do it," Robin said, standing up from the huddle. "I'm the oldest, I'll fight her."

"NO!" Alex shouted, hand clamping down on Robin's shoulder. "Undyne's already almost killed you too many times for my comfort and I-"

"Well, you're out of your mind if you think I'm going to let any of you fight her while I watch from the sidelines," Robin argued. 

"And _you're_ out of  _your_ mind if you think you're going anywhere near this battle, Rob!" Alex spat. 

"I'll fight her!" Bell offered, even though their hands were already shaking at the thought of facing Undyne alone.

"No, I'll do it! It was my idea," Laurel said.

"Mine too," Bell said. "I should fight!" 

"I'll fight!! I'm not scared of anyone!!!" Hop jumped up, their hands waving.

"For the last time, no one is fighting Undyne alone!!" Alex shouted. 

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize _you_ were in charge!" 

"Well, maybe I should be!"

The siblings dissolved into a heated argument, words and reasonings and belittlements were thrown around like projectiles. Twain looked to each face of their siblings and pressed their face into their hands; looking to the right, they saw Frisk standing a little ways away looking up at Undyne. As Twain watched, Frisk began to step forward.

Realizing that Frisk intended to fight Undyne themself, Twain ran forward in a panic and, pushing Frisk out of the way, bolted up to the cave's entrance and looked up at Undyne.

"That's it, then...!" Undyne grinned down at Twain. 

Twain took a shaky breath and did their best to look intimidating with only their pink apron and an old frypan to face the Head of the Royal Guard with. 

Undyne's one yellow eye glinted with excitement and she gave Twain another fanged grin before speaking again. 

"No more running away!" she said. "HERE I COME!!!!!!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I always say this, but I feel like I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate you reading my writing!! It means so much <333


	13. Spear of Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wind is howling. You're filled with determination...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *kicks a table* Finally at the Undyne Battle!!

Twain thought for a moment they had actually died the second Undyne leapt from the top of the tunnel and came careening down at them, arrow poised in hand. They had squeezed their eyes shut, too afraid to look as their guts splattered over the marshy ground of Waterfall. But they didn't die. There was a flash of blue, the sound of an arrow burrowing into the ground, and the familiar tug of a battle on Twain's soul. When they peeked their eyes open, Twain saw Undyne looming over them with a challenging grin that knew its own strength. Looking to the side, Twain saw one of Undyne's enormous blue arrows lying bent in the mud, dull and broken. Twain picked it up and brandished it like a shield.

Undyne's grin widened as she stared down at her tiny opponent. With one might swoop of her arm, Undyne whooshed her own arrow over Twain's termbling body.

"En guarde!" she declared.

Twain tried to move then, tried to run away, but found that their feet were frozen to the spot. Looking down at their chest, Twain saw a witchy green glow emanating from their chest. Not knowing what else to do, Twain spared Undyne.

"As long as you're green, you CAN'T ESCAPE!!" Undyne told Twain. "Unless you learn to face danger head-on, you won't last a SECOND against ME!"

Twain gasped as the attack began. Three arrows fired out in front of Twain, each in sequence of the last. Holding the broken arrow they'd made into a shield over their chest, Twain heard each attack ping as it hit the shield and then vanish. The turn ended.

"Please, Undyne!" Twain pleaded. "I don't want to fight you!!" 

But nothing happened; Undyne continued as if Twain hadn't spoken at all.

"Not bad," she remarked. "Then how about THIS!?" 

More arrows. This time, coming from right and left as well as front. Twain had to think fast just to hit each arrow with their shield, but miraculously made it out of the turn undamaged. They spared Undyne for their turn.

"For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending..." Undyne said before firing off another attack.

Arrows at the right and left in quickening sequences. Twain thought the turn was over, but soon felt a sharp pain lodge into their back. Turning around as best they could, Twain caught a glimpse of one of Undyne's magic arrows flickering out of existence from where it had landed in the middle of their back. Biting back tears, Twain tried not to let their pain or lessened HP discourage them. Since the damage wasn't too bad, they spared Undyne again.

Undyne pounded the ground with her fists. "And now, sunlight is just within our reach!"

Another attack. Arrows flew from all sides. This time, Twain took extra care to watch their back but couldn't avoid an arrow from the left piercing their shoulder. Gasping against the sudden agony flaring up in their arm, Twain struggled to the end of the turn. Instead of sparing Undyne this time, Twain took their turn to eat a Nice Cream.

 _Love yourself, I love you!_ the Nice Cream said, and Twain smiled as they felt their HP fill back up and their wounds heal. 

Undyne snarled, bouncing impatiently as her turn began. "I won't let you snatch it away from us!"

Twain swerved to avoid the quickening pace of the arrows, pinging as many away as they could manage. A few hit them in the chest and Twain spat out blood, ending the turn with a desperate gasp for air. Checking their supply of health items, Twain figured they'd wait a turn before eating anything else. They spared Undyne. 

"NGAHHH!! Enough warming up!!!" Undyne roared, and brought her arm back threateningly high for her next attack.

* * *

"You know, you have always been this way ever since you fell down!" Robin snapped at Alex. "Always acting like you know what's best even when it's not a feasible option!"

"And _you_ have always been the same!" Alex spat back. "Always jumping up to take the beating for everyone else!"

"What's wrong with that!?" Robin demanded.

" _What's wrong with that!?_ " Alex repeated, baffled. "You don't have to die for us to appreciate you, Robin!" 

Robin's cheeks burned bright red. "Well you-"

A frantic tugging on the end of their robes snapped Robin out of the argument. Looking down, they saw Frisk was yanking furiously at the purple material of Robin's skirts as they tried to get their attention.

"What is it, Frisk?" Robin asked, kneeling down.

Frisk bounced slightly on their feet as they pointed to the tunnel. Robin squinted to see what they were pointing at and gasped when they recognized the familiar dark gloom of the battle dome.

"Who is in there!?" Robin demanded, spinning around to do a head count. "Frisk, Alex, Hop, Laurel, Bell..."

"...Twain..." Laurel murmured.

"TWAIN!?" Hop shouted.

" _Twain!!_ " Robin took to their heels, bolting over to the battle dome and pounding on the shrouded sides. "Why. Can't. I. Get. In!? It worked in Papyrus' battle!!!"

"I-I-It's probably reacting to Undyne's intent," Laurel babbled, running up to Robin's side as they continued to kick at the battle dome. "Papyrus wasn't really aiming for a real battle, I don't think. Undyne, on the other hand...She's fighting to kill."

"No one gets in," Bell murmured. "No one gets out."

"This is crazy! Twain won't fight her!!" Robin said, clawing at the shadowy barrier. "Twain's never so much as squashed a spider, they could never battle a trained warrior!" 

"This is why-" Alex rammed the side of the battle dome with their shoulder. "-I wanted to fight her together!! So _this_ wouldn't happen!"

"You guys, stop!" Laurel pushed against their oldest siblings, holding them off from attacking the dome any further. "This won't help anything."

"Laurel's right," Bell agreed. "All we can do now is run to Hotland like we planned and wait for Twain to come through."

Robin boggled their eyes at their siblings. "I'm not leaving Twain alone with this maniac!!"

"Robin..." Laurel said, then caught the hesitant looks on their other siblings' faces as well. "Guys, look. This plan can work, but you guys have to trust that I know what I'm talking about. Okay?" 

Robin placed a hand against the unyielding battle dome and gave a heavy sigh, full of nerves they couldn't let go. 

"Okay, Laurel," Robin closed their eyes. "I trust you."

* * *

Up, down, left, right...arrows fired off in all directions at Twain. They couldn't seem to move their shield fast enough, getting hit more than once in more than one place. When this herald of arrows ended, though, Undyne whooshed her spear over Twain again. The bent arrow whipped from their hand and righted itself, firing straight at Twain. Instinctively, Twain went to dodge and found they could move again. Breathing a sigh of relief, they bolted from the battle as soon as Undyne's turn ended.

Bolting into the tunnel, Twain ran as fast as they could away from Undyne. They remembered Laurel's plan of getting Undyne to Hotland, and hoped their siblings would be waiting for them on the other side of the tunnel. But first, they'd have to survive outrunning Undyne. They made it about halfway through the first part of the tunnel before Undyne caught up to them, yanking them back into battle. 

"You won't get away from me this time!" Undyne grinned, tossing the broken spear back at Twain.

Twain unthinkingly hit spare, forgetting their almost empty HP. They gasped as the attack began, sure they would perish. As the first arrow came flying, they raised their arm and...

They heard a ping.

And another.

And another.

Several pings, all in a row, and the turn was over. Twain stared at the spear in their hand in disbelief. They had somehow known where the arrows were going to hit, almost as if they'd seen the future.

Not relying on their one time dumb luck, Twain used their next turn to eat one of the freeze dried astronaut bars. Their HP filled up and they felt ready for the next round.

"Honestly, I'm doing you a favor," Undyne continued, striking out with her next attack.

The defelcting didn't go as smoothly as the previous turn, but Twain still managed to get through the round without losing too much HP. They spared Undyne again.

"You humans will NEVER make it past Asgore!" Undyne cautioned. 

A rapid slew of arrows showered down. They pelted Twain from all sides. As their HP got lower and lower, they felt their arm jerk around almost as if on autopilot. A chorus of pings sounded the end of the turn.

Another spare from Twain. Even though their HP was low, they knew somehow they'd be alright if they let their arm do the blocking.

"Honestly," Undyne exclaimed, suplexing a giant boulder just because she could. "Killing you now is an act of mercy!!"

Twain's arm swung out, a complete other mind of its own, and blocked the next round of arrows. Twain was grateful to not be getting hit anymore, but couldn't help but be a little weirded out by their arm somehow knowing exactly where Undyne's attacks were going to strike.

Undyne seemed confused too, not even having anything to say before her next attack; but appeared to be getting frustrated with Twain's continuous lack of dying. The attacks fell and Twain got hit once, leaving their HP a sliver of yellow before them. Using the other Astronaut Bar, Twain felt their HP fill back up.

"So STOP being so damn resilient!" Undyne snarled in aggravation.

Twain's arm didn't move automatically and they had to hurry to avoid getting hit by Undyne's impossibly fast attacks.

 _So my arm only knows where to aim when my HP is low..._ Twain thought to themself as the turn ended and Undyne whooshed her spear overhead. Twain's feet unlocked and they immediately ran, heading up to the next part of the tunnel.

They passed by a blinking sign that read "WELCOME TO HOTLAND" in a blinking scrawl. Twain breathed a sigh of relief as the end of the tunnel came into view and the temperature began to climb. Then, a familiar tug pulled them back into Undyne's battleground.

Undyne whooshed her spear, locking Twain in place. 

"You've escaped me for the LAST time!" Undyne warned.

"Undyne, please," Twain pleaded. "I just want...Why can't we be friends!?"

Undyne looked startled by Twain's question, as if remembering someone. The attacks still came, but Twain noticed they came with a slightly slower speed. 

"Alphys told me humans were determined..." Undyne muttered, looking to the ground. More attacks. More damage. More spares. "...I see now what she meant by that!" 

The new attacks Undyne was using threw Twain a little bit, the backwards firing golden arrows distracting them from the normal pattern and dealing more damage. The turn ended and Twain could feel they only had 1 HP left. They ate the Cinnamon Bun Robin had bought for them and felt their health completely restore.

"But I'm determined, too!" Undyne snarled, drawing her finger across her neck.

Spears shot out from all directions. After a few normal attacks, the golden arrows took over and confused Twain to the point of not even aiming just randomly swinging their shield around and praying for the best. The arrowheads jabbed at their body, leaving ugly wounds that bled like crazy once the magic spears faded away. Twain winced up at Undyne, hoping the battle was almost when they dared to spare her again.

"Determined to end this RIGHT NOW!!" Undyne roared.

The attacks kept firing. Twain spun dizzily, letting their HP go down and their arm go on autopilot; they were bleeding and sore and tired of fighting. Undyne seemed to be growing weary of the battle, too; her shouts growing shorter and angrier with each attack.

"NGAHHH!! DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" she screamed at last.

But Twain refused. Golden arrows fired and Twain fixed Undyne with a determined stare as they let their arm do the work. Attacks pinged away against the bent spear, Twain's arm flinging around almost as rapidly as the attacks being hurled at them. The heavenly whoosh of Undyne's spear sounded the end of the attack, and Twain dodged the last attack being flung at them. Gathering themself up, Twain wasted no time bolting from the battleground.

Almost as soon as they started to run, though, they heard their phone ring. Against their better judgment, and because the kids were all always deep down hoping for a call from their mother, Twain answered the phone.

"Hello?" Twain panted, peeking behind their shoulder to see Undyne had stopped chasing them.

"HEY!" Papyrus' voice boomed out. "WHAT'S UP!?"

"Nothing much," Twain replied, eyes fixed on Undyne in case they had to make a sudden run for it; but she just stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. "Uh, what's up with you?"

"I WAS JUST THINKING..." Papyrus said. "YOU, ME, YOUR SIBLINGS, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS!"

"Uhh..." Twain bit their lip, the still bleeding wounds in their sides begging to differ.

"LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!" Papyrus said with finality, hanging up with a click.

As soon as their phonecall ended, Undyne sprang back into action. Twain didn't look behind them as they ran out of the tunnel, but heard the familiar clomping of armored boots clomping dangerously close behind them. The temperature rose sky high the second Twain stepped out of the tunnel, suddenly surrounded by red dusty roads and pools of magma.

Twain blinked in surprise as they ran past sans to get to a nearby bridge; sans was asleep at his sentry station, but Twain stopped to wave anyways. Undyne stopped when she passed sans, quaking with sudden rage at the sight of the slacking skeleton. Twain couldn't help but laugh at how much Laurel would probably get along with Undyne as they bolted across the bridge, trying not to think about the incinerating lava directly below them. 

As they got further across the bridge, Twain thought they heard their name being called. 

 _Oh great, I'm already delirious from the heat,_ Twain shook their head dismissively. But as they crossed to the other side of the bridge, a pair of arms wrapping tightly around them and drawing them up into a hug proved they weren't hallucinating. Their siblings were all there on the other side of the bridge and Robin was hugging them so tight they thought the air would go right out of their lungs.

"Oh Twain! You did it, you did it, you did it!" Robin swung Twain gently from side to side, tears of relief slipping out from their closed eyes. 

"Robin..." Twain breathed, settling into the crook of their eldest sibling's neck. 

The reunion was short-lived though. Undyne's boots clomped closer and closer to them, and she soon stepped into view right at the edge of the bridge. Robin pulled Twain back, pressing the rest of their siblings behind them. But Undyne's movements had slowed and she looked...dry.

"Armor...so...hot..." Undyne panted. "But I can't...Give up..."

Undyne staggered forward for a few more steps, looking parched and dizzy. Twain eyed a water cooler up in the corner of the area just as Undyne collapsed onto the bridge from heat exhaustion. 

"I knew it!!" Laurel exclaimed, giving a leap of victory. 

"Thank goodness," Robin sighed in relief, still holding Twain protectively. 

"Let's leave before she gets up," Bell said. The other siblings nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

"No, wait!!" Twain called out, jumping from Robin's arms and crossing to Undyne. "W-We can't just leave her here like this!" 

"Huh!?" Alex puzzled. "After everything she did to you...You want to _help_ her!?" 

"Yes," Twain nodded, crossing to the water cooler and pouring a cup of water.

"Twain, after the beating you just took," Hop said with a pointed look at the cuts Twain hadn't healed. "Her laying in the heat for a while...seems like a pretty equal split."

Twain sighed. "But it's not _right_ , Hop. She's shown me what kind of person she is, I'm going to show her what kind of person I am."

Tipping the cup forward, Twain splashed the cool water onto Undyne's withered face. Undyne stirred, slowly waking as the water hydrated her again. Twain backed up a little bit, but didn't feel quite so scared of Undyne anymore.

Rising to her feet, Undyne looked down at Twain with the empty water cup in their hand. Then, she looked back to the other six humans and then looked around herself. Looking back to Twain, a confused grimace crossed her face. Turning on her heel, Undyne stomped quickly from the area and disappeared back into the tunnel to Waterfall.

A solid minute of silence passed over the group as the other six stood gape-mouthed behind Twain, who was smiling as they watched Undyne walked away. No one was really sure how to react and was waiting for someone else to speak first.

Hop took up the responsibility of reacting first and jumped forward with a victorious "HECK YEAH!!" 

The other siblings all joined in, running up to clap Twain on the back.

"You beat the Head of the Royal Guard, dude!!" Alex exclaimed, rubbing Twain's shoulders like a proud parent. "That was AWESOME!!!"

"Very impressive, if I do say so myself," Laurel nodded, unable to stifle a relieved grin. 

Bell wrapped their arms around Twain's neck and kissed their cheek. "You're amazing, Twain! How did you ever get past her!?"

"I..." Twain shrugged, not sure whether to tell about their autopiloting arm or not. "I guess I just knew where to aim...?"

"I'm glad you did," Robin sighed in relief again, draping their arms over Twain in another embrace. 

The hugging and celebrating continued for a few more minutes before the kids broke apart. When their other siblings broke away, Twain found themself facing Frisk. 

Twain was horrified to see that Frisk was crying, silently but profusely, and struggling to maintain their smile as they looked up at Twain. Moving their hands, they signed a message to Twain.

"Frisk says," Laurel translated, focusing very hard to get the message right. "They say that they're so glad you're alright and that they're sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Twain tilted their head to the side.

"Frisk told us that they're the reason you had to fight Undyne," Robin explained. "They told us that they had sneaked off to fight her, and you had pushed them out of the way and gotten pulled into the battle yourself."

Twain looked down at Frisk and smiled. "It's okay, Frisk. I won, didn't I?"

Frisk's lower lip quivered and suddenly they were running forward, wrapping their arms around Twain and crying silently into their stained apron.

Twain blinked in shock but, after a moment, simply smiled and wrapped their arms around Frisk too. 

* * *

Alex crossed their arms as they looked up at the two Royal Guards standing in front of one of the roads.

"Sorry..." the rabbit guard was saying. "Undyne, like, told us there were totally some humans in the area. So, like, us Royal Guards are blocking off the elevators for now. Ngah! Even if the elevators aren't working anyway, we'll do our best, Ms. Undyne!!" 

Alex looked to the dragon guard for anything additional, but the dragon monster didn't say a word. Looking between the two of them, Alex shrugged and turned back to their siblings.

"Yeah, they're not going anywhere any time soon," Alex said, putting their hands on their hips.

"Well, we could go through that Lab," Hop suggested, gesturing to a large white building to their right.

"Hmm..." Robin tapped their chin, hesitant to direct their family through a mysterious lab in the middle of the underground.

"Hey, what about what's down here?" Laurel asked, pointing to a set of steps. "Let's check it out."

The kids looked up to Robin, who looked to the lab and then back to the guards. Turning back to their siblings, Robin nodded and headed towards the staircase.

"Looks like the safest bet," Robin said as they began to descend. 

The group came to a little clearing where the temperature dropped a little and the air became easier to breath. There wasn't much to the area, except for a stretch of water and a hooded figure docked at the edge of the platform. Laurel was the first to go up and inspect the hooded figure, notebook out.

"Uh, who are you?" Laurel asked.

"Tra la la. I am the riverman," they said. "Or am I the riverwoman...? It doesn't really matter. I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?"

Laurel looked over their shoulder at their siblings. "Care to join them?" they repeated.

"No," Robin shook their head. "We're not going backwards."

"I agree," Alex nodded. "Time to check out the lab, I guess."

"Uh, guys..." Twain said as their siblings began to head up the stairs.

The other six turned to listen to Twain, all eyes on them. Twain shifted uncomfortably, knowing the reaction their next statement was going to get. But they took a deep breath and said it anyways.

"I think we should go check on Undyne."


	14. She's Playing Piano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twain: I wanna go back to check on Undyne.  
> Everyone Else: // loses minds// /

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does everyone want to go back to Jakku?

_Forty-seven. You let them die forty-seven times._   _You knew you had the power to change it and you still let someone else fight the battle for you. You disgusting, slimy little coward-_

"Frisk," Hop's voice broke through, pulling Frisk back into reality. "Are you alright, partner?"

Blinking, Frisk gave a vague nod. Hop seemed unconvinced, but let it slide and didn't press any further. Drawing their knees up to their chest, Frisk looked down at the passing water.  

"I can't believe we're doing this," Bell groaned, sitting with their feet dangling off of River Person's gondola and one arm wound tightly around Alex's leg. "All because Papyrus called and asked us to go hang out??" 

"Well...yeah," Twain murmured. "And I want to see if Undyne's okay. Maybe after losing a battle she'll have cooled off."

"I don't follow that logic," Laurel shook their head, writing something in their notebook about River Person.

"She's probably going to be angrier than ever," Alex agreed. "Robin, why did you even agree to this?"

"It's important to Twain. And after battling Undyne singlehandedly, I think they're the one most well-equipped to gauge how dangerous she is," Robin said from where they were standing directly behind River Person, looking ahead into the depths of the tunnel they were all traveling down. "Besides, Papyrus will be there," they added as an afterthought, giving a nonchalant shrug with one shoulder.

"Oh, then we're completely safe!" Bell rolled their eyes. "Look, I'm sure Undyne is fine. What I'm not sure of is how fine we'll be if we waltz right into her house like she hasn't been trying to kill us for the past two days."

"Bell, if you're so scared, why don't you just wait in the boat?" Twain asked with an irritated flick of their eyebrows.

Bell spluttered. "I am _not_ scared! You take that back!" 

"You are too scared," Alex said.

"Scaredy cat," Laurel murmured in agreement, still scrawling in their notebook. 

"Okay, fine, I am," Bell admitted. "Is that so crazy!? To be scared of this giant fish monster warrior who has threatened to shish kabab us all and feed us to an even bigger monster who also wants us dead!?" 

"What happened to 'she's all talk'?" Alex asked.

"Uh, this!" Bell reached out and tugged on the edge of Twain's shirt, peppered with stab holes.

"Oh, come off it, Bell!" Twain shoved their sibling's hand away. 

"Enough," Robin sighed, holding a hand up. "It will be fine. We'll go, check to make sure Undyne is alright, and then leave. We know River Person now so we won't even have to run very much if things go bad. Alright?" 

The kids all mumbled a quiet assent to the plan, but only Twain seemed really happy about carrying it out. They pulled into the Waterfall dock, said goodbye to River Person and trudged up the stairs.

Laurel popped in the shop to wave at Gerson, and to check if he had remembered the story about King Fluffybuns yet, which he hadn't.

"Hnnnnggghhhhhh," Bell whined as the group strode through the Quiet Area and paused at the turn that lead up to Undyne's house. "Do we have to?" 

"You don't _have_ to do anything," Twain said. "But I'm doing this with or without you guys. Although, I would prefer if I didn't have to do it alone."

"Well, I'll go with you," Robin said, placing their hand on Twain's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Twain looked up at Robin. "I know how much she scares you."

"True," Robin nodded. "But not as much as you being alone with her scares me."

Twain smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Robin nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Robin looked over their shoulder at their other siblings. "Ready?" 

"As ready as we'll ever be," Alex laughed, the reactions around them ranging from Hop's emphatic hollering to Bell's grimace of despair. "Let's do this!!"

Taking a collective deep breath, the seven humans crossed over to the House of the Royal Guard. As they stepped into the area, they noticed two things.

"She's playing piano," Bell remarked on the first thing, enjoying the music in the air despite the dread hanging over their head.

Hop, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the second thing about the area marginally more than Undyne's piano playing.

"PAPYRUS!!!" they yelled, running up to the skeleton in excitement so fast their cowboy hat flew off the back of their head. Robin caught the red straw hat with one hand before it even had a chance to touch the ground, coming up behind Hop and placing it on their head so deftly the child didn't even realize it had been missing.

"OHO! THE HUMANS ARRIVE!!" Papyrus declared as the seven kids wandered up around him in a loose semicircle. "ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE?" 

"Err...We're really just here to make sure she's alright..." Robin explained, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "Wouldn't want to overstay our welcome, ya know?"

"WORRY NOT, ROBIN!" Papyrus said. "I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU ALL GREAT FRIENDS!"

"Well..." Robin tried to force a smile, but just ended up with a pained expression across their face instead. "That's really great." 

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Papyrus said. "BECAUSE, I TOO, AM REALLY GREAT. NOW, HUMANS! STAND BEHIND ME!!" 

As the kids fell in line behind Papyrus, he looked over his shoulder and whispered loudly,"PSST. MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS!" Papyrus held up a bone attack with a red ribbon tied around it. "SHE LOVES THESE!" 

Turning around, Papyrus gave the door a sharp knock and waited. The piano music came to an abrupt stop, and the front door opened like a set of jaws. Undyne smiled when she saw Papyrus; she was more dressed down than the kids had seen her before, dressed in a plain black tank top and jeans, none of her frightening armor in sight. 

"Hi, Papyrus!" Undyne said, her voice friendly and relaxed. "Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?"

"YOU BET I AM!" Papyrus grinned. "AND I BROUGHT SOME FRIENDS!"

Papyrus stepped aside and the kids shuffled out of their strict line, still remaining close together but peeking out enough to be seen individually. Undyne didn't seem to register who they were, and kept her pleasant smile on.

"Hi," Undyne said to the humans, obliviously cordial. "I don't think we've..."

Undyne's face twisted up in a sudden jolt of shock and rage when she saw who Papyrus had meant by 'friends'. Robin, who was at the front, had stopped breathing and kept their eyes locked on the warrior. Undyne looked angrily over at Papyrus, who merely grinned in response; Undyne looked back to the humans.

"Why don't. You all. Come in?" Undyne bit out, her voice full of restricted malice as she turned and went inside.

Papyrus did an excited little dance on the doormat and headed inside as well. The seven humans stood in silence, frozen in place.

Bell gave the open door a long eye. "Welp," they threw their hands up in surrender. "I'm leaving."

"Aw, Bell!" Hop called as their sibling turned and headed towards the exit. "You're so stuck up!" 

"Sorry, guys, but you gotta know when to say no!" Bell waved as they walked away. They had almost reached the path out of the area, when Papyrus shouted a whisper from inside the house; making them jump and freeze in shock.

"NO! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FRIENDSHIP!!"

Alex laughed, striding over to their sibling. "Come on, Bell, it'll be fun!" 

Bell gave Alex a blank stare. "What about any of this seems fun!?"

"C'mon, did you see Undyne's face!?" Alex asked. "That alone was worth the trip."

"Ugh, fine," Bell groaned. "But if this ends horribly, I am _so_ gloating forever."

"I imagine you will either way," Alex said, putting their arm around Bell's shoulders and steering them back towards Undyne's house.

The seven humans all squeezed through the doorway, coming up close behind Papyrus as they entered Undyne's home. 

"HERE, UNDYNE. MY FRIENDS BROUGHT A GIFT FOR YOU, ON THEIR OWN!" Papyrus grinned, holding up the gift-wrapped bone attack.

"Uhhh...thanks," Undyne said, stepping forward and taking the gift from Papyrus. "I'll, uh, put it with the others."

Bell stifled a laugh as they watched Undyne pull open a drawer and toss the gift in amongst at least a dozen other identical bones.

Undyne walked back over to Papyrus, pointedly ignoring the seven humans clustered behind him. 

"So are we ready to start?" Undyne asked.

"WHOOPSY DOOPSY! I JUST REMEMBERED!" Papyrus announced. "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!! YOU EIGHT HAVE FUN!!!" 

Undyne and the kids turned to stare as Papyrus ran to the window and promptly jumped out, shattering glass all over the floor. Undyne turned back to look at her remaining guests, face draining of all former friendliness.

Undyne's gaze zeroed in on Twain, who had pushed their way to the front of the group. "So why are YOU here? To rub your victory in my face? To humiliate me even further, this time IN FRONT of all your little human friends? IS THAT IT?"

Twain twiddled their thumbs anxiously, shaking their head. "No."

"Then why are you here?" Undyne demanded. Then, she started as if realizing something. "Wait, I get it. You think I'm gonna be friends with you, huh? Right???" 

"Uh..." Twain hesitated, scrunching their face up in apprehension. "Yes?"

"Really?" Undyne hooted out in feigned jubilee. "How delightful!! I accept! Let's all frolick in the fields of friendship!"

"You think she's serious?" Laurel muttered to Frisk.

"...NOT!" Undyne shouted out before Frisk could answer. "Why would I EVER be friends with YOU!? Why would I be friends with ANY OF YOU!?!? If you all weren't my houseguests, I'd beat you all up right now!" 

"Pretty big talk for someone who lost to a twelve-year-old," Alex scoffed.

Undyne narrowed her eye at Alex before continuing. "You're the enemies of everyone's hopes and dreams."

"Yeah, well, we'd like to change that," Twain said, wiping their sweaty palms against their apron. "I thought if we could be friends, maybe together we-" 

"I WILL _ **NEVER** _ BE YOUR FRIEND!" Undyne snarled down at Twain, leaning over so she was at slightly more eye-level with them. "Now get out of my house!"

Twain felt themself begin to tear up and considered just turning away and leaving like Undyne wanted, when they heard rapid footsteps patter up to the window.

"DANG! WHAT A SHAME..." Papyrus stuck his head into the shattered window, addressing the humans. "I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIENDS WITH YOU. BUT I GUESS...I OVERESTIMATED HER. I BET SHE COULDN'T BEFRIEND EVEN ONE HUMAN, LET ALONE SEVEN. SHE'S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE!"

"CHALLENGE!?" Undyne shouted as Papyrus dashed away from the window once more. "What!? Papyrus! Wait a second...!" 

The kids turned their heads from the window, slowly looking back to Undyne.

"Darnit!" she muttered, glancing back to Twain. "He thinks I can't be friends with YOU!? Fuhuhu! What a joke! I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day! I'll show him! I won't just befriend YOU, I'll befriend your entire weird human family! I'll show him!"

Undyne squared her shoulders and rolled her neck as if prepping for a workout. "Listen up, humans!" she shouted. "We're not just going to be friends. We're going to be...BESTIES. I'll make you guys like me so much you won't be able to think of anyone else!!! Fuhuhuhuhuhu! It's the PERFECT REVENGE!!!"

"Oh dear God," Bell murmured, sinking back amongst their siblings. 

"Why don't you all have a se-"

"HEY, WHAT'S THIS ROOM!?" Hop burst forward, running over to the back corner of Undyne's house before anyone could stop them. 

Undyne raised an eyebrow. "You wanna see my room? TOO BAD! No nerds allowed!" she said, but suddenly blushed. "...well, maybe some nerds..."

"Oooooh, like who?" Hop waggled their eyebrows.

"You're being kind of creepy," Undyne said. Turning away from Hop, she noticed Bell admiring her piano. "Checking out my piano, huh?"

Bell drew their hand back quickly. "Oh, I just...hadn't seen one in a while."

"I get a lot of compliments on that," Undyne said proudly. "One time, Alphys's...Uh, friend??? Came over here. But all he did was lie seductively on the piano and fed himself grapes."

"Really?" Bell raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't really like that guy..." Undyne said. "But I admire his lifestyle."

"What about Papyrus?" Bell asked, jabbing a thumb at the broken window. "What do you think of him?"

"I can't believe he leapt through the window like that," Undyne shook her head. "Normally he NAILS the landing!"

"Wow, Undyne!" Twain called from the back of the room. "I love your stove!"

"Oh yeah," Undyne nodded. "That's some top-of-the-line MTT thing. But, y'know, as much as technology advances...Nothing beats food home-cooked with fire magic."

Robin dropped one of the tiny cutlery spears they'd been inspecting with a clatter. "Fire magic?"

"What!?" Undyne turned on them. "You disagree with me!?"

"No, I-I feel the same way..." Robin said, smiling a little at Undyne.

"Oh," Undyne crossed her arms. "Wait a minute...when have YOU ever had food made with fire magic?"

Robin gave Undyne a half-hearted huff of exasperation. "I told you before that my mom is a monster." 

Undyne wrinkled her brow. "You're still sticking to that story, huh?" 

"Hey, Undyne, cool sword!" Alex spoke up suddenly, holding an enormous sword out in front of them. "Where'd you get it?"

"Alphys and I made that with parts we found at the dump!"

"The dump, you say?" Alex raised an eyebrow, setting the sword back against the wall.

"Yep!" Undyne said. "Humans suck, but their history...Kinda rules. Case in point: This giant sword! Historically, humans wielded swords up to ten times their size. RIGHT?" 

"Uhh...no..." Laurel said, turning away from the Hot Fridge they'd been sketching out in their notepad.

"Pfft! You liar! I've READ Alphys' human history book collection," Undyne declared proudly. "I know all about your giant swords...Your colossal, alien-fighting robots...Your supernatural princesses...Heh! There's no way you're gonna fool me! Now, why don't you all sit down at the table?"

Frisk took their nose out of the sink where they had been peeking at a little blue teacup in the shape of a fish and made their way over to the table. They went to take one of two seats at the table, but decided to let Twain have it since they were the one who had wanted to come see Undyne. Twain sat down on the little stool and the other six all gathered around on the floor by the table.

"Comfortable?" Undyne asked, a pleasant smile plastered on her face. "I'll get you guys something to drink."

Undyne went to the fridge and placed an assortment of drinks across the counter.

"All set! What would everyone like?" 

Robin made a move to stand up and get their own drink, but Undyne reacted immediately by throwing one of her magic spear directly into the middle of the table. The kids screamed in fear, Robin not even protesting when Alex picked them up off the ground and backed up. But Undyne made no further attacks.

"HEY!!! DON'T GET UP!!! YOU'RE THE GUESTS!!! SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOURSELVES..." Undyne began to sweat a little bit when she saw the terrified expressions of the humans. "Um, why not just point to what you want? You can use the spear."

Frisk handled the spear, pointing in a sweeping arc over the room as everyone called out drink suggestions. Undyne refuted every request, almost tossing Bell out of the window when they jokingly asked for the entire fridge. Hop suggested the sugar bowl, completely serious.

"That sugar's for the tea," Undyne said. "I'm not gonna give you a cup of sugar! What do I look like, the ice-cream woman? Do human ice-cream women TERRORIZE HUMANITY with ENERGY SPEARS? Are their ice-cream songs a PRELUDE TO DESTRUCTION? IS THAT IT?"

"No!" Laurel scoffed.

"That's what I thought."

"No, wait, we mean 'Yes!'" Hop called, jumping up from where they were seated to wave across the table.

Their hand came down to rest on the tabletop and knocked the spear from Frisk's hands. Robin lurched and caught the spear before it could hit anyone in the room and held it tight in their grasp. 

"Uhhh..." Undyne spoke, a confused look of disgust crossing her face. "Are you hitting on me?" 

Robin looked to the tip of the spear, practically leaping out of their skin when they saw it was pointed at Undyne. 

"Absolutely not!" Robin stood up suddenly and, out of panic, launched the spear like a javelin at the stack of tea boxes on the counter. The spear's tip shot through one of the boxes and embedded in the bright blue wallpaper behind the counter. "Um," Robin blushed as they quickly sat back down and buried their face in their hands. 

Undyne raised her eyebrows at the spear in her kitchen wall, before forcing a laugh and waving the magic spear away with a flick of her wrist. 

"So...tea, huh?" Undyne asked, still stifling laughter as she went and picked up the tea box from where it had dropped on the counter.

"That'd be great," Twain said. 

"Coming right up!" Undyne went to the sink and filled her silver tea kettle up, placing it on the stovetop. The water took all of three seconds to boil on the MTT brand stovetop and soon Undyne was brandishing the tea kettle like it was the helm to her suit of armor. "Okay, it's all done!" Undyne said cheerfully, walking over to get some mugs. "Uhhhh....you know, I only think I have one teacup....."

"Oh..." Twain was the first to respond. "That's fine. I don't need any-"

"NO!! YOU'RE THE GUEST!!!" Undyne protested, slamming the full teacup down in front of Twain and fixing the other humans with a glare. "I WILL BE. RIGHT. BACK." 

The kids craned their necks to watch as Undyne disappeared into her room, but she slammed the door firmly behind her. Still, they could hear the shifting of items and crash of knick knacks being dropped on the floor while she was in there. After a moment, Undyne emerged with a cluster of empty jars and souvenir glasses the kids recognized as overworld destinations. Undyne filled the six containers and placed one in front of each human; then, she headed to the other side of the table and sat down.

"Careful, it's hot," Undyne warned.

Each of the humans blinked down at their steaming cups of tea, most of them not even wanting to drink the boiling liquid that had been placed before them.

"It's not THAT hot!" Undyne burst out after a minute, impatient. "Just drink it already!" 

The kids all reached forward and took a sip of their tea, stifling their reactions as the liquid hit their tongue. The tea was burning...but other than that, it was pretty good.

"It's pretty good, right? Nothing but the best for my ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS FRIENDS!!!" Undyne shouted, making some of the kids jump and others laugh.

Then, it was silent for a while. Nothing but the sound of tea being gingerly sipped.

"Hey..." Undyne broke the awkward silence, smiling over at Frisk. "You know...It's kind of strange you chose THAT tea. Golden flower tea...That's Asgore's favorite kind."

Robin made a startled choking noise at the mention of Asgore, setting their tea back down on the table.

"Actually, now that I think about it...You kids kind of remind me of him, especially you, frycook," Undyne said with a pointed glance at the pan Twain had set on the table. "You're all TOTAL weenies!...sort of."

The humans looked between each other at the sudden drop in Undyne's voice. She sounded suddenly far away and in her own world.

"Y'know, I was a pretty hotheaded kid," Undyne said, not meeting any of the humans' eyes. "Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore. Emphasis on TRIED. I couldn't land a single blow on him!"

Alex shifted where they sat, concerned about running into Asgore more than ever.

"And worse, the whole time, he refused to fight back!" Undyne continued. "I was so humiliated...Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy..."

"What'd he say?" Laurel asked, completely engrossed.

"He said, 'Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?'" Undyne replied. "I said yes, and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down. I felt...bad. But he was beaming...I had never seen someone more proud to get their butt kicked. Anyway, long story short, he kept training me...And now I'm the Head of the Royal Guard! So I'm the one who gets to train dorks to fight!"

"Like Papyrus!" Hop bounced on the floor.

"That's right...like, uh, Papyrus," Undyne said, going silent for a moment. "But, um, to be honest...I don't know if...I can ever let Papyrus into the Royal Guard. Don't tell him I said that!!"

"But why?" Bell asked. They weren't Papyrus' biggest fan, but they knew how much getting into the Guard meant to him.

"He's just...Well..." Undyne struggled to find the right words. "I mean, it's not that he's weak. He's actually pretty freaking tough! It's just that...He's...He's too innocent and nice!!!"

Bell wrinkled their brow. "What?"

"I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you...And he ended up being FRIENDS with you instead!" Undyne explained. "I could NEVER send him into battle! He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds."

"Why not just tell him the truth?" Bell asked.

"Sometimes it's nicer to lie," Twain said before Undyne could respond, settling their chin to their hands.

"Exactly," Undyne nodded. "I don't want to crush his spirit!!! That's part of why...I started teaching him how to cook, you know? So, um, maybe he can do something else with his life."

Twain took a breath like they wanted to say something, but Undyne picked up again before they could speak.

"Oh, sorry, I was talking for so long you guys are out of tea, aren't you?" Undyne changed the subject. "I'll get you some more."

Undyne pushed back from the table and went to make more tea, but stopped midway as if she'd just remembered something.

"Wait a second," she said, turning to face the humans. "Papyrus...His cooking lesson...HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW!!! And if HE'S not here to have it..."

"Oh man, I got a bad feel about this..." Bell murmured, backing away slightly.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR HIM!!!" Undyne declared. Leaping into the air, she landed on the counter and kicked everything off of it and onto the floor. "That's right!!! NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking! Which means that if I give you his lesson...WE'LL BECOME CLOSER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!!! Fuhuhu! Afraid!? We're gonna be best friends!!!"

Undyne jumped off of the counter and landed in the middle of the humans. Spreading her arms wide, Undyne lifted all seven children off of the floor and hefted them over to the counter; jumping as if they weighed nothing.

"Let's start with the sauce!" Undyne announced, giving the floor a rough stomp. A few tomatoes and other assorted vegetables toppled neatly onto the counter. "Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy! NOW!! Pound them to dust with your fists!!!"

Twain looked down at the fist and then back up at Undyne. Reaching out, they stroked the vegetables affectionately. 

"OH MY GOD!!! STOP PETTING THE ENEMY!!!" Undyne said, shoving Twain out of the way. "I'll show you how it's done!!! NGAHHH!!"

Striking out, Undyne pulverized the vegetables into paste. The goop splattered all over the counter and all over Undyne.

"Uhh, we'll just scrape this into a bowl later. But for NOW!!" Undyne stomped the floor again, and a pot and a box of spaghetti noodles fell from the ceiling and landed on the stovetop. "...we add the noodles! Homemade noodles are the best! BUT I JUST BUT STORE-BRAND!! THEY'RE THE CHEAPEST!!! NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Uhh, just put them into the pot."

"I got this one," Alex said, parting through their siblings. "Watch and learn, kiddos!"

Picking up the box of pasta, Alex slam dunked the entire thing into the pot; the box clanging against the bottom.

"YEAH!! I'M INTO IT!!!" Undyne hooted. "Alright! Now it's time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir...THE BETTER IT IS!!! Ready? Let's do it!" 

This time, Robin stepped forward and started stirring. As Robin stirred, Undyne was over their shoulder, goading them to stir harder and harder.

"Ugh, let me do it!!" Undyne said eventually, pushing Robin back from the stove. Summoning one of her energy spears, Undyne jabbed at the pot with it; bending the metal out of shape. "Fuhuhuhu! That's the stuff!! Alright, now for the final step! TURN UP THE HEAT!!! Let the stovetop symbolize your passion! Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire! READY!? Don't hold anything back!!!"

Instinctively, Robin reached out to turn the knob to the left.

"Left? You fool!" Undyne said. "THIS BURNER ONLY GOES ONE WAY!!!"

"Like this!" Hop lunged forward, grabbing the dial and spinning it furiously to the right.

"Hotter!" Undyne urged. 

Frisk jumped up too, combining their strength with Hop's to turn the flames higher. 

"HOTTER!!" 

Bell reached for the dial as well. The flames crawled higher and higher up the sides of the pot.

"Uhh...guys..." Robin cautioned as they watched the flames increase.

"Ugh, let me do it!" Undyne said. Grabbing the dial, Undyne gave it one hard twist and fire shot up from the burner, all the way to the ceiling. "See!? This is how you-" 

There was a flash and the sound of incineration, and then the kids were looking around to find themselves in the midst of Undyne's burning house. Undyne looked around at the flames and then at the molten pot of pasta on the stove.

"Ah. Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks at cooking," Undyne laughed, looking to the humans nervously. "So what's next? Scrapbooking? Friendship bracelets?"

The humans looked at each other and then back up to Undyne, not knowing how to tell her what they really wanted to do next was run screaming out of her burning house.

"...oh, who am I kidding?" Undyne muttered, her huge smile faltering. "I really screwed this up, didn't I? I can't force you to like me, humans. Some people just don't get along with each other. I understand if you feel that way about me. And if we can't be friends...That's okay."

Twain waved their hands out at Undyne. "No, Undyne, it's not th-"

"Because...If we're not friends..." Undyne continued, suddenly looking triumphant. "IT MEANS I CAN DESTROY YOU WITHOUT REGRET!"

Twain gasped as they got pulled, once again, into a battle with Undyne. She stood staring dramatically down at the ground, spear clutched in her grip.

"I've been defeated...My house is in shambles...I even failed to befriend you," Undyne spoke. "That's it. I don't care if you're my guest anymore. One final rematch! All out on both sides!!! IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN REGAIN MY LOST PRIDE!!! NOW COME ON! HIT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT!! NGAHHHHH!!"

Undyne yielded to Twain for the first attack. Looking down at the frypan clutched in their hand, Twain knew they wouldn't actually hurt Undyne. They weren't strong enough and, further more, they didn't want to hurt her. So, in the hopes of fooling Undyne, Twain struck out and faked an attack; barely bopping her on the arm.

When she suffered no damage, Undyne looked down at Twain in shock.

"What. That's the best you can manage? Even attacking at full force...You just can't muster any intent to hurt me, huh?" 

 _My God she fell for that!_ Twain raised their eyebrows in shock.

"Heh, you know what." Undyne cracked a smiled. And then, to everyone's shock, she dropped her spear to the floor. "I don't actually want to hurt you either."

"You...don't?" Twain asked in surprise.

"At first, I hated your stupid saccharine schtick, but..." Undyne said. "The way you hit me right now, it...Reminded me of someone I used to train with. Now I know you aren't just some wimpy loser. You're a wimpy loser with a big heart! Just like him..."

Undyne's face fell, and she turned to the rest of the group who were all watching in shock.

"Listen, humans," Undyne spoke. "It seems that you and Asgore are fated to fight. But knowing him...He probably doesn't want to. Talk to him. I'm sure you can persuade him to let you go home. Eventually, some mean humans will fall down here and I'll take THEIR souls instead. That makes sense, right?"

The kids stood and smiled at Undyne, knowing there wasn't much they could do to change how the Barrier had to be broken.

"Oh, and if you DO hurt Asgore..." Undyne added. "I'll take those humans' souls, cross the barrier, and beat the HELL out of you all! That's what friends are for, right? Fuhuhu! Now, let's get the hell out of this burning house!" 

Before any of the kids could move towards the exit, Undyne spread her arms wide and hoisted all seven of them up into her arms at once. Hefting the humans up onto her shoulders in a gangling heap of limbs, she bolted from the house with a battle cry and deposited them all safely on the damp ground of her yard outside. 

"Well, that was fun, huh?" she grinned, wiping a streak of ash from her brow with the back of her arm. "We'll have to hang out again another time...! But, uh, somewhere else I guess. In the meantime, I guess I'll go hang with Papyrus. So, if you need me, drop by Snowdin, okay? OH! And if you ever need help, just give Papyrus a ring, ok? Since we're in the same spot, I'll be able to talk too! Well, see ya later, you punks!!" 

"That really was fun," Bell laughed, smiling as they watched Undyne run off. "Other than, you know, the house burning down."

"Yeah, I guess it was kind of fun," Robin admitted, brushing the front of their robe off as they stood up from the ground. "Well, who's ready to go to Hotland?"

"Can't imagine it getting much hotter than standing in the middle of a burning house," Alex swung a look back at the smoldering home behind them. "So, yeah, let's go!"

"ALRIGHT!!" Hop cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. "HOTLAND HERE WE COME!!! AGAIN!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa this chapter took a long time to write!! But it was also really fun!


	15. It's Showtime!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OHHHHHH YESSSSSSS!

"Was Hotland this HOT last time we were here!?" Hop asked, taking their hat off to fan themself.

"It would explain the title," Laurel laughed, tying their cardigan around their waist. "Guess King Asgore really is lousy at names, huh?" 

"Pfft, yeah," Hop grinned. "Good thing he never had any kids, heh."

"Your parents named you Hop," Bell remarked, retying their ballet slippers. 

"That's just a nickname, smartypants," Hop scoffed.

Bell furrowed their eyebrows in astonishment. "Wait, _what_!?"

"Urrr, nevermind!" Hop blushed suddenly, turning towards the others and clearing their throat. "So, which way are we headed?" 

"I don't know," Robin tapped their fingers against their chin. "Those guards aren't moving, but I'm not so sure about going through that lab."

"Aw, come on, Rob!" Alex clapped an arm around Robin's shoulders. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I lost it after being thrown down a perilous abyss at the age of eight," Robin shrugged Alex's arm off. "Where's _your_ sense of caution?"

"Temporarily alleviated in the interest of moving forward from this spot," Alex said. "It'll be fine! You've got your big strong sibling here to protect you!" 

"Are you referring to yourself?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "Because as I recall, I'm the stronger of us two."

"Not when I do this!" Alex lunged forward and picked Robin up around the waist and swung them from side to side, their feet dangling off the ground. 

"Not fair! You're taller than me!" Robin protested, smacking the top of Alex's head with both of their hands until they set them back down on the ground. Robin sighed and brushed off their robe. "Alright, let's go through the lab!"

The group fell in line behind Robin as they strode up to the doors of the laboratory. The doors slid open automatically, and the kids passed through single file.

The space inside was dark and cold and smelled like a dentist's office. It was so dim, the kids couldn't see more than a few inches in front of them. The only light source was a huge, blaring television screen just inside the entrance. The seven humans all froze when they saw what was on the television, staring in disbelief.

"That's us....?" Robin said, tilting their head to the side and watching as the television mimicked the movement.

Laurel didn't seem as taken aback by the screen, nodding as if they had been expecting this.

"Guess we found whoever's been planting all those cameras," Laurel said.

" _YUCK!!_ " Hop made a face and drew their gun. "Let's find this creep!"

Hop forged ahead into the room, making their way in the darkness as best they could; the others following close behind.

"I'd settle for finding the lights," Alex muttered, holding a bit of Robin's robe between their fingers so they wouldn't get lost. 

"Aw, come on, Lex! Where's your sense of adventure?" Robin said; and, even though it was pitch black in the room, the others could see their smirk as clear as if they were standing in daylight.

"Using my own words against me..." Alex shook their head. "Shameful."

Robin laughed and kept walking, but their laughter came to an abrupt stop when the sound of a door sliding open hit their ears. Footsteps, coming from the opposite direction, shuffled along the tile floor. Sounds like claws buffing against the linoleum followed each step, and the humans all froze in fear at the mysterious beast in the dark. Hop, who was furthest ahead, could make out the vague shape that looked like depictions of dinosaurs they'd seen on the surface. The lights went on.

The kids felt a conflict of emotions, wondering whether to stay afraid or to relax, when a little yellow lizard monster was revealed under the bright lights of the laboratory; and they all ended up with expressions of profound confusion and slight relief at the short monster. She was wearing glasses and a lab coat, twiddling her claws as she turned to face the humans' direction. Her face went from blasé to shocked when she saw the seven humans standing in front of her. Clutching her head, the monster turned to the side and stared at the ceiling in astonishment.

"Oh. My God." she said, beginning to dance around in circles. "I didn't expect you to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and..." She paused to take a few deep breaths. Straightening her spine, she turned and smiled nervously at the humans. "Ummm...H-h-hiya!"

"Hi...?" Robin said tentatively.

"Who are you!?" Alex demanded, holding Robin's shoulders and peeking at the monster over their older sibling's head.

"I-I'm Dr. Alphys," the small yellow monster said. "I'm Asgore's royal scientist!" 

"You work for Asgore?" Robin asked, pushing their siblings behind them.

"D-d-d-don't worry," Alphys waved their hands placatingly. "I'm not one of the 'bad guys'! Actually, uh, since you guys stepped out of the Ruins, I've, um....been 'observing' your journey through my console. Your fights...Your friendships...Everything!"

"Yeah, we know!" Laurel burst out, blush climbing up their face.

"And we think it's **_CREEPY_**!!" Hop added.

"O-Oh, I...urr...." Alphys stammered. "H-Hey, I probably would think so too! Ha, especially since I was originally going to stop you."

"Shit, guess we gotta brawl, then," Alex said, stepping forward with their fists at the ready. 

"No, I-I'm not gonna do that anymore! P-Please, don't fight me," Alphys insisted, waving her hands to stop Alex from advancing. "Watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them. S-so, ahhh, now I want to help you! Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to Asgore's castle, no problem!" 

"Wow," Laurel said, sounding more skeptical than relieved. "That sounds almost too good to be true!" 

Alphys blushed and looked to the side. "Well, actually, um, there is just a tiny issue."

"Thought so," Laurel nodded, but wasn't expecting the issue they heard next.

"A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton," Alphys said. "Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot."

"Entertainment robot?" Hop smiled at the idea.

"Uhh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something," Alphys explained. "Anyway, recently I decided to make him more useful. You know, just some small practical adjustments. Like, um...Anti...anti-human combat features?"

Frisk threw their hands in the air in exasperation.

"Of c-course, when I saw you all coming, I immediately decided I have to remove those features!" Alphys continued. "Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so."

"Hmm," Bell narrowed their eyes, looking Alphys up and down.

"And, um..." Alphys began to sweat. "Now he's an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?"

"Oh yeah?" Laurel raised an eyebrow, sharing a look with Bell.

"Ehehehhehehe..." Alphys laughed nervously. "Heh. But, umm, hopefully we won't run into him!"

As soon as Alphys finished speaking, there came an ominous _clang_ from behind the walls.

"....?" Alphys looked puzzled. 

_Clang!_

"Did you hear something?" Alphys asked.

_Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!_

"Oh no," Alphys murmured, realization dawning on their face an instant before the lights cut out.

"OHHHH YES!" A computerized voice spoke out. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES..."

A spotlight illuminated one corner of the room, the one where the clanging had been coming from. There was now a gaping hole in the wall and, standing in front of it, a robot in the shape of a rectangle. Mettaton.

"...TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!!!" 

At the close of Mettaton's sentence, disco balls descended from the ceilings and the lights slowly began to turn up. 

"OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW!" Mettaton said. "EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!" 

Confetti rained down onto the seven humans, who were still trying to wrap their heads around the scene unfolding before them. 

"We're on TV?" Laurel asked, looking around for the cameras.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?" Mettaton asked, directing the question at Laurel. "NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE! ANSWER CORRECTLY...OR YOU DIE!!!" 

Laurel felt themself get tugged into battle. Standing opposite them was Mettaton, prepping his questions, and...Alphys?

 _What is she doing in this battle?_ Laurel wrinkled their nose in suspicion.

"LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" Mettaton said. A block of white text blinked up in front of Laurel, displaying the question and a set of answers.

**What is the prize for answering correctly?**

Laurel stared down at the potential answers and made an inference as the timer counted down. Given what they knew about Mettaton, they figured the answer would be the 'More questions' option.  They were about to press 'D' when they looked up and noticed Alphys motioning to them. She was using her fingers to spell out the answer, which matched the conclusion Laurel had come to on their own. Looking between Alphys and Mettaton, Laurel felt their eyes narrow. With a sudden rush of hubris, Laurel brazenly slammed the button for 'Money'. 

A buzzer sounded to let Laurel know how wrong they were and Mettaton used his finger to send out an electric shock to Laurel, cutting their HP down in half. Alphys bit her fingers and watched in horror as Laurel got shocked to a crisp.

"HAHAHA! YOU WISH! WRONG!" Mettaton said, prepping the next question. "HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!" 

**What's the king's full name?**

_Another easy one._ Laurel thought, looking to see Alphys hinting at the 'Asgore Dreemurr' option. Chuckling a little to themself, they reached out and selected 'Lord Fluffybuns' instead. Another shock. 

"WRONG!" Mettaton said. "IF ONLY ALPHYS COULD HELP!" 

"Laurel, what are you doing!?" Alex shouted from the sidelines. "You know these answers!" 

"Just trust me!" Laurel called over their shoulder. 

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU," Mettaton interrupted. "LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" 

**What are robots made of?**

This was a question Laurel probably would have needed Alphys' help on if they weren't so determined to answer incorrectly, and they made a mental note that 'Metal & Magic' was the correct answer before slamming on 'Sugar & Spice'.

"NOPE! TOO BAD ALPHYS CAN'T HELP!" Mettaton said again. Laurel smirked, looking between the two of them as the next question popped up. "HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!" 

**Two trains, Train A and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?**

Laurel almost felt intimidated by the question, before remembering they didn't have to get it right. Rolling their eyes, they picked a random answer without even checking to see Alphys' suggestion. They waited for another shock, but only heard a little ping and then they were being showered with confetti.

"WONDERFUL! I'M ASTOUNDED FOLKS!" Mettaton cheered. Alphys gave a thumbs up as Laurel stared in shock at the answer they'd picked which was lit up with green. "DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY..."

**How many flies are in this jar?**

Laurel squinted at the jar that appeared before them. Giving a shrug, they pressed the option for '55'. Another shock bolted through them.

"WRONG! WRONG! WROOOOOONG!" Mettaton singsonged. Laurel wheezed agains their dwindling HP as the robot moved onto his next question. "LET'S PLAY MEMORY GAME."

**What monster is this?**

Laurel barely had to look at the corner of the monster being depicted to know it was a Froggit, which were more common in the Ruins than humans had been while they lived there. But Laurel wasn't playing to win the quiz show, they were playing to figure out a new puzzle that had unfolded before them. Half-smiling, Laurel pressed the button for 'Mettaton'. 

_Ping!_

"I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED!" Mettaton said as the confetti rained down. The depiction had pulled away to reveal a picture of mettaton wearing a T-shirt with a Froggit on it. "BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE?"

**Would you smooch a ghost?**

Laurel blushed at the question and started laughing at the answers. Finally, Alphys was stumped. Laurel kept laughing at the four options which all read 'Heck Yeah' and picked a random one without fear. 

"GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!" Mettaton raved. Laurel did wonder why the question had even been included and why Mettaton felt so passionate about it, but saved that mystery for another time. "HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE!"

**How many letters in the name Mettatonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.....**

The letter 'n' kept going and going and going. Laurel curled their lip at the immediacy with which Alphys "hinted" an answer, and quickly hit any answer but 'C'. Another shock that took all but one last sliver of Laurel's HP.

"TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!!" Mettaton announced, throwing up the next question.

**In the dating simulation video game 'Mew Mew kissy Cutie' what is Mew Mew's favorite food?**

"OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!" Alphys shouted out, waving her hand in the air. "IT'S SNAIL ICE CREAM!!!!! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH!!! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS!!! BUT IT'S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT!!!!! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY POWERFUL message about friendship and..."

Sweat began to bead Alphys' brow and she looked nervously over at Mettaton when she realized she'd blown her cover. Laurel raised their eyebrows and observed the robot and the scientist's interactions.

"ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS," Mettaton tsked. "YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT, ARE YOU? OOOOOOH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!!! I'LL ASK A QUESTION YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!" 

**Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?**

Alphys' eyes widened and she held her hands out to Laurel to stop them from answering. Laurel looked at all of the options. Up until that point they'd felt rather daring with their HP, but now when they were one wrong answer away from death, they didn't want to mess up. Thinking back to Undyne's house, they remembered how 90% of what Undyne had said had been about Alphys. Reaching out, they pressed 'A' for 'Undyne'. 

_Ping!_

"SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN ONE OF THE HUMANS FIGURED IT OUT," Mettaton said. "YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER...SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR: ONE PERCENT."

Laurel looked over to Alphys and saw her covering up her face to hide the blaring red blush creeping up her cheeks. 

"WELL WELL WELL," Mettaton said. "WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU...THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS!! BUT. BUT!! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE!! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE!! MORE BLOODSHED!!! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS...!!!"

Then, Mettaton pulled his arms into his rectangular body and rocketed out of the lab. The battleground cleared and the kids were left alone with Alphys in the room. An awkward silence pursued, and Alphys looked from one confused expression to the next.

"Well that was certainly something," Alphys remarked. 

"It certainly was," Laurel sniffed, gliding away to the hole in the wall where Mettaton had come through.

"So, you have a crush on Undyne, huh?" Hop asked, batting their eyelashes teasingly. 

"Th-That, uh....He wasn't s-supposed to ask that question," Alphys stammered.

"Supposed to?" Bell raised an eyebrow. 

"Uhhh...Uhh..." Alphys twiddled her fingers. "Y-Yeah, I mean I c-coded him so I knew what he would ask...Th-That's how I knew the answers. But, I guess, you didn't see my signals..."

"Nope," Laurel said, backing away from the hole in the wall. "You know, it's funny. For a killing machine with a thirst for human blood, Mettaton didn't seem too persistent with that whole killing me thing."

Alphys glanced nervously at Laurel. "Urr, well...you see...I, um..."

"HEY!!" Hop shouted out all of a sudden. "Do you have a dog!?"

The kids and Alphys all turned to where Hop was standing by an enormous bag of dog food.

"Uhh...no...?" Alphys said slowly.

Hop drooped. "Aw, then how come you have this?"

"W-Well..." Alphys stammered. "There's a, uh, little white dog who shows up sometimes...I like to have it on hand...?"

"This bag is half full," Laurel said. "That dog show up a lot?"

"Y-Yeah, all the time!" Alphys said a little too quickly.

"We should wait for the dog!!" Hop suggested, jumping up and down. "Please, Robin, please??"

"Nooooo," Robin said, waving their hands. "I want to get moving as soon as possible, in case that robot decides to do his second episode sooner rather than later."

"Aww, it's not fair!" Hop whined. "I haven't seen a dog since Snowdin!"

"Somehow, I think you'll live," Alex said, picking Hop up and heading for the door.

"Alright, guys, let's go!" Robin called, waving the rest of the group over to the exit.

"Wait, wait!" Alphys called as the kids were about to leave. "Let me give you guys my ph-phone number! Th-then...m-maybe...If you need help, I could..."

"Nope, we're fine!" Laurel said before anyone could even take their phone out. 

"Yikes, Laurel! You're kind of harsh today," Alex remarked, pulling their phone out and passing it to Alphys. The other kids took their phones out, even Laurel; although they did so with a dramatic roll of their eyes.

Alphys gathered the phones in her hands and froze when she got a closer look at them. "Wh...Where did you get these phones!? They're ANCIENT!!"

"Yeesh, tell us how you really feel," Bell murmured, crossing their arms and blushing.

"Well, they don't even have texting!!" Alphys exclaimed. "W-Wait a second, please!" 

Alphys ran off to the other side of the lab, and the kids craned their necks to see what she was doing. After a moment, Alphys came pattering back over with the seven phones in her arms and redistribute them.

"Here, I upgraded them for you!" she said as she handed the phones out. "They can do texting, items, they've all got keychains...I even signed you all up for the underground's No. 1 social network! Now we're officially friends! Ehehehe! Heheh...Heh...I'm going to the bathroom."

The door on the side of the wall slid open and Alphys ran inside, shutting the door behind her. Laurel and Bell were the first two out the doors, leading the others into the intense Hotland heat. 

"Well," Robin breathed out. "She seems nice."

"She's a liar," Laurel and Bell blurted out at the same time. 

"What!?" Alex exclaimed.

"Why do you say that?" Robin asked.

"The watching us on camera, the whole thing with Mettaton, the fact she's Asgore's royal scientist...Isn't it obvious?" Laurel said. "She has her own little plan going on right under our noses, and I'm not going to stop until I find out what it is!" 

"Yeah, plus, she just gives me a kind of dishonest vibe in general," Bell added. "The Mettaton 'accidentally' getting turned into a bloodthirsty killing machine story seems like way too convenient a mistake for the royal scientist to have made."

"But why would she do that on purpose?" Twain asked.

"I'm..." Laurel paused. "...not sure. But I'm going to find out!" 

"Okay, well, in the meantime..." Robin said. "Innocent until proven guilty, alright?"

"Alright," Laurel grumbled.

"Great, now let's go," Robin said, taking the lead and heading down the dry red road.


	16. Another Medium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //kicks my leg out// / Sorry this took so long aaaah! I was having a Major Depressive Episode™

_Ding!_

"Alphys updated her status," Bell said, taking their phone out of their pocket for the umpteenth time since leaving the lab. 

"What's it say?" Robin asked, not bothering to take their phone out. After the second update, Robin had fiddled with their phone and turned off the notifications for UnderNet.

"It's says: I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^" Bell read aloud.

Laurel peeked at their phone screen. "How'd you make that little face sound?" 

"It's just like a...a little kawaii noise or something you know," Bell said, clearing their throat. "Uh, so do you think she might ever actually call us?"

"Don't know," Robin shrugged, surveying the room in front of them.

"Heh, not like we're not used to not getting phone calls though, right?" Alex gave an empty laugh.

"Huh?" Robin glanced over their shoulder.

" _Alex!_ " Bell murmured, elbowing their sibling in the side. 

"Um...uh, I mean, too bad she didn't call before Vulkin attacked," Alex said quickly.

"Hey, I loved that little volcano!" Twain said.

"Oh yeah, you loved them right into a new apron," Alex said, holding up the singed hem of Twain's apron.

"Laurel, any idea what these do?" Robin asked, pointing to one of the vents on the ground with their toe. 

"Well," Laurel pushed their glasses up on the bridge of their nose. "There's steam coming out of these vents and arrows pointing in different directions...I assume it means-Hey, Frisk! What are you d-"

Frisk had run past Laurel and went to stand on one of the steam vents. After a moment, a jet of steam burst under Frisk's feet and shot them to the other side of the pass. They stood up, brushed themself off, and waved to the others as they watched in bewilderment. Frisk turned to keep walking, in a gesture to get the others to follow them, but as soon as they took their first step; a monster jumped out and attacked. The other six humans gasped at the airplane-shaped monster that had just attacked; Frisk fumbled around trying to figure what their first move should be to win the battle.

Bell's mouth quirked up on one side. "Tsunderplane?" 

"Oh my gosh, we have to go help!" Robin began to panic.

"Don't worry, Robin, I got this," Bell stepped up to the steam vent. "I've seen enough anime to know where this is going."

Bell rode the steam wave over to where Frisk was standing and joined them in battle.

"Alright, Frisk, this guy seems mean but we'll be fine. Just do what I do," Bell said, clapping a reassuring hand to the smaller kid's shoulder. "We're gonna get close...but not too close."

Bell moved forward first, Frisk tailing the fluttering ribbons of their ballet slippers. 

"Eeeeh? H-Human...?" Tsunderplane squinted at Bell and began their first attack.

Smaller airplanes flew at Bell and Frisk, ringed in bands of green. The two struggled to dodge the planes completely when they heard a little voice calling out to them.

"Hit the green!!" Twain was saying from across the way. "Green boosts your HP!!"

"Right!" Bell nodded, getting close to one of the attacks and touching the green magic around it. There came a harmless ping as the green vanished from around the plane. Frisk followed suit, reaching out to the attacks around them and pinging against the green magic as well. As the two grasped at the green magic in the air, a blush began to grow up the sides of Tsunderplane's metallic face. The attack ended.

"Okay, now here's what we've gotta do," Bell turned to Frisk, kneeling down in front of them so they were eye to eye. "We have to flirt with this airplane, Frisk. Are you up to the challenge?"

Frisk gave a solemn nod.

"Good," Bell said, standing up. They cracked their knuckles and rolled their neck. Cupping their hands around their mouth, Bell called out to Tsunderplane while Frisk winked seductively to the side. "Ohhhh Tsunderplane! You have _such_ an _impressive_ wingspan!!"

"Ah...Is that true...?" Tsunderplane blushed even more and looked away shyly.

The next attack consisted of a lot of bomb attacks being dropped from a small airplane that sent up bolts of flame as the bombs fell. These attacks were trickier to dodge, but Frisk and Bell managed to scrape out of the attack with minimal damage to their HPs. Taking each other's hands, Bell and Frisk both reached out and spared Tsunderplane. The blushing monster vanished, leaving 60G behind for both humans who had battled them.

"Wow, Bell, that was amazing!" Alex landed behind their siblings.

"Oh yeah?" Bell raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean..." Alex gestured to Bell in amazement. "...I had no idea you were such a huge weeb!"

"Pfft!" Bell scoffed. "A weeb who just won 60G."

"Okay, you two," Robin shook their head, smiling and looking down at their phone. "Well, apparently Alphys has had her claw over the last digit of one of our number's for the last five minutes...Let's keep going and see if she actually calls."

So, the group kept moving and, apart from one phantom ring, Alphys didn't call before they reached the next room. However, when they stood facing an array of orange and blue lasers; Robin's phone rang at last.

"Uhh! H-Hi, so, the blue lasers...Uhh! I mean, Alphys here! Hi!" Alphys' nervous voice spoke out. "The blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move! O-Orange ones, um...Y-you have to be moving, and they...Um, they won't, um...Move through those ones!...Uhh, bye!" 

The siblings all exchanged perplexed glances between each other. Their phones pinged again, and they all took a moment to read Alphys' latest status update. 

_OMG I DID IT!!! claws haven't shook like that since undyne called to ask me about the weather.... v.v_

"Wow..." Alex remarked, raising their eyebrows and then turning their attention to the lasers. "So, we just walk through the orange lasers? And stop at the blue ones? Sounds easy."

Alex began to step forward when Robin reached out and pulled them back.

"Hold on," Robin said. "We can't just walk right through, we need to wait for the right moment."

"Save it for the blue lasers," Alex rolled their eyes and grabbed Robin's hand, pulling them along through the orange lasers. "Let's go, guys! And don't stop moving!" 

Alex was distractedly looking behind them at the other children when they passed through the second orange laser in the sequence. 

"Alex!" Robin shoved their way to the front and stopped their sibling right before a blue laser was about to go through them. A ping sounded from all of their phones.

 _WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME_ the update read.

"Those two should just kiss already," Bell said, crossing their arms. 

"Alright, guys, here's what we're going to do," Robin said, eyeing the blue laser. "Frisk, when the blue laser goes through and behind you, we're going to move forward through that next orange laser. Same thing with the next blue except we'll have to go faster. Then, when we get past the orange laser after that; wait for me to tell you when to move."

The kids made it through to the last two blue lasers in fine style, but the other six found following Robin's direction at the last stage of the laser maze extremely monotonous. Especially Alex, who would have much rather been following their own lead than their older sibling's. 

"Rob, this is taking forever!" Alex finally complained after being told to wait for the sixth time.

"Do you want fast or accurate?" Robin asked as a blue laser fazed through their still body. 

"Fast," Alex grumbled. Breaking their position, Alex stomped forward and immediately got clipped in the back with the returning blue laser. Their HP took a hit as they went through a series of lasers they weren't prepared for.  Dropping to their knees at the end of the attack, they decided to let Robin take care of the blue from then on.

Looking over at Alex, Frisk made their move as well. Waiting for the lasers to get out of their way, they began to head forwards. Ignoring the calls of the older children, Frisk ambled through the two blue lasers and then through the last orange one. Reaching upwards, Frisk hit a button on the wall and the lasers all shut completely off. The other six blinked, gave a collective shrug, and continued on their way. 

* * *

"Oh My God i Forgot to Tell THem Where To Go," Laurel read another one of Alphys' updates aloud, giving a scoff. "Yeah, we've been doing just fine without any of your 'help' so don't worry."

"You really don't like her, huh?" Alex raised an eyebrow, looking at the next update from Alphys. 

"It's not that. I don't trust her," Laurel sniffed, glancing at the picture of the pink trash can. "She's...okay personality-wise, I guess. Let's just keep going, I don't want to talk about this."

Laurel took the lead, making their way for the next area. As they reached the end of the room, their phone rang; and they picked up, because they didn't want to risk missing a call from Toriel. But they picked up to hear Alphys' nervous voice instead of Toriel's familiar, calming one.

"A-A-Alphys here!!!!!" she greeted.

Laurel sighed, looking tired. "Yeah?"

"Th..." Alphys faltered, hearing the disappointment in Laurel's voice. "The northern door will stay locked until you...S-solve the puzzles on the right and left! I...think you sh-should g-g-go to the right first!"

"Oh you do?" Laurel muttered after Alphys had hung up. "Guys, there are puzzles to the right and left that need to be solved!"

The group had split into two to solve the puzzles. Bell had grabbed Laurel and immediately ran to the right, and Robin followed them. Laurel solved the puzzle easily, taking a grand total of thirty seconds to figure it out. As they exited the room, Laurel got offended when a floating head monster called them a total nerd even though Bell insisted it was meant as a compliment. They left the puzzle room to find Robin talking to two monsters sitting at the edge of the platform.

"...That human almost looked REAL!" one monster in a coat and tie was finishing saying as Laurel and Bell joined their sibling. 

"Yeah, it's incredible what special effects can do," Robin nodded, smirking at their younger siblings as they came up from behind. "So, that Mettaton guy must be pretty famous, huh?"

"Mettaton? Yeah, he's the most popular star in the underground!" the other monster, a black wispy collection of shrouds, spoke up. "His fan club probably has at least two...no, THREE dozen members."

"Wow! What other stars is he up against?" Bell butted in.

"...Other stars?" the wispy monster furrowed their brow. 

"Yeah, you know...like, competing entertainers?" Laurel added.

"Well, there's this one Snowdrake comedian..." the monster in a coat and tie said. "But since his wife fell down and his kid ran away, all of his jokes have been really depressing. And we don't need anymore depressing in our lives than we already have, am I right?"

"Uh, r-right," Robin smiled anxiously as the monsters stared at them and their younger siblings.

"Ah, well," the suit and tie monster shrugged, looking back out at the lakes of magma. "Guess we know freedom is coming though, huh?"

"Right, well, uh we had better go and see what our family is up to," Robin said in a hurry, ushering Bell and Laurel from the space. 

* * *

Alex had taken Frisk, Twain, and Hop to the puzzle on the left; but before they could even begin to form an idea of what kind of puzzle they would have to solve, their way was blocked by a bright blue laser that wouldn't move. Alex felt their phone buzz.

"Hello?" they answered, putting the phone on speaker so the other kids could hear. 

"Alphys! Here!" Alphys greeted them. "Th-That blue laser seems totally impassable! B-b-b-but! As the Royal Scientist, I have some tricks up my sleeve! I'll h-hack into the Hotland laser database and take it out!"

The phone hung up and the blue laser immediately went out. 

"Hmm..." Alex squinted at where the beam had just been obstructing their path.

"What'cha thinking, Alex?" Hop asked, bouncing lightly on their toes.

"I'm thinking that maybe Laurel and Bell are onto something," Alex pursed their lips and tread forward carefully.

"Let's not worry about that right now," Twain said. "Let's just get through these puzzles so we can move on."

Twain, Frisk, and Alex all went into the puzzle room to try their hand at solving it; Hop paused before going in and instead meandered over to two monster kids in school uniforms.

"Finally!" one green fire monster kid spoke up as Hop approached. "Someone turned off that laser! Now that we're free we can...Well, uh, I guess we'll just keep standing here."

"How did you guys get trapped??" Hop asked.

"We were hanging out when suddenly, a buncha puzzles reactivated out of nowhere," another monster kid said, this one looked like a purple dragon. "This is a huge problem...It rules! They've GOTTA cancel school over this!"

"Heh, yeah," Hop gave a weak smile, turning away from the ecstatic kids and setting down at the edge of the platform. They'd always hated doing schoolwork back Home but right then, not having the option made them homesick for the hours spent doing schoolwork with their siblings. Taking their phone out, Hop thought about calling Toriel. Before they could press the call button, they stopped themself; remembering all of the unanswered calls them and their siblings had made before and deciding that no one was going to pick up. Instead, they called Papyrus' number.

"What's up, punk!?" Undyne answered. 

"U-Undyne!" Hop was taken aback, not expecting the aggressive fish monster to pick up their call. "Nothing's...up...Uh, just, chatting with some kids."

"Some monster kids?" Undyne clarified. "They should be in school right now."

"Yeah, I think they're skipping," Hop muttered, picking at their lip.

"Huh? Those kids are skipping school?" Undyne said. 

"Yeah..."

"...well, I can't blame them, school sucks!" Undyne declared, making Hop laugh. "We need to find some way to make it cooler...Hey, what if I visited their school!? Then I could beat up ALL the teachers!"

Hop smiled, thinking back to Monster Kid talking to that Echo Flower back in Waterfall. Undyne took the silence as disapproval. 

"Okay, maybe I wouldn't beat up a teacher," she added.

"Thanks, Undyne," Hop said. 

"Hey, no problem!" Undyne replied, a smile in her voice. "Wait, what'd I do?"

Hop laughed and hung up the call, standing up and turning around as Frisk, Alex, and Twain came out of the puzzle room.

"Did you solve it?" Hop asked. 

"Yeah, after about twenty different tries," Alex said. "Frisk finally figured it out." 

"Awesome!" Hop jumped and turned towards the exit. "Let's go meet up with the others!!"

Taking the lead, Hop went up to the huge set of doors that had been locked by the unsolved puzzles. The other three humans were waiting there; Bell was stretching, Laurel was writing, and Robin was staring down into the flaming depths surrounding them. Regathering the group, the seven children all headed through the now open doors and came upon more steam vents. They all heard their phones ping with status updates, but Frisk and Twain were the only two who bothered to read what Alphys had said. Just as they were about to step on the first vent, Robin's phone began to ring. As usual, Robin clambered to answer the call as fast as possible and Alex noticed they picked nervously around their thumbnail while waiting to hear who was on the other line.

"Uuuuh, I think...Ummm..." Alphys' voice stammered out of the receiver and Robin's shoulders drooped. "About the puzzles on the left and right! They're a bit difficult to explain, but..."

"We already solved them," Robin said, their voice full of exhaustion and sounding very close to breaking its usual calm tone. 

"...uhhhh, you already solved them? Awesome!" Alphys said, hanging up abruptly.

Robin pressed both hands to their face and took a deep breath. 

"Okay," Robin took their hands down. "Let's keep moving."

The other humans didn't say anything as they followed Robin across the steam vents. The sequence of the vents turned out to skyrocket them all into an entirely new part of Hotland. However, the seven couldn't get a good look at it since the entire space was pitch black. Someone's phone rang and Alphys' voice spoke out.

"H-Hey, it's kind of dark in there, isn't it?" she said. "Don't worry! I'll hack into the light system and brighten it up!" 

There was a beat of silence and then the area lit up. The kids all glanced around in confusion. The new area didn't look anything like the rest of Hotland; and, to Twain's delight, it seemed to be a brand new kitchen.

"Oh no." Alphys managed.

Before the kids had time to react, Mettaton in a chef's hat rose up from under the counter. 

"OHHHH YES!!!!!!" he said. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!!"

The seven humans peered over the edge of the counter to see the words "Cooking with a Killer Robot" appear in sparkly pink lettering on the side of the platform. 

"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY!! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING..." 

The humans waited anxiously to hear what horrifying concoction Mettaton was surely planning on making out of them.

"...A CAKE!" Mettaton revealed.

The kids all gave a collective sigh of relief mingled with confusion.

"MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE," Mettaton gestured to Twain. "WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS! EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!!"

Confetti rained down on Twain's head and artificial applause sounded from somewhere off camera.

"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS," Mettaton listed. "GO FOR IT, SWEETHEART!"

Twain looked to Robin for the go-ahead and they nodded warily.

"Just be careful," they cautioned, crossing their arms and keeping am eye on Mettaton.

"Okeydokey!" Twain smiled, pattering over to the back counter. All of the ingredients had been laid out, so it was just a matter of Twain gathering everything into their arms and bringing it up to Mettaton. Plunking the ingredients down, Twain smiled up at the killer robot.

"PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton cheered. "WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE!! MILK...SUGAR...EGGS...OH MY!! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET!!! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!!!"

"What?" Twain wrinkled their brow. 

Mettaton reached down and pulled up a gigantic chainsaw. "A HUMAN SOUL!!!!"

Twain gasped and tried to back away from the encroaching chainsaw. Just as Mettaton was about to close in, a phone began to ring. The seven humans all checked to see if it was them being called, but none of their phone had rung. 

"HELLO...?" Mettaton picked up his phone. "I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE!" 

"W-Wait a second!" Alphys' voice stammered out of the receiver. "Couldn't you make a...Couldn't you use a...Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe!?"

"...A SUBSTITUTION?" Mettaton echoed. "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT?....WHY?"

"Uhh, what if someone's..." Alphys reached for a reply. "...Vegan?"

"...VEGAN" Mettaton said, as if tasting how credible the reason was.

"Uhh well I mean-" 

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS!!" Mettaton decided, his theme music flaring back up to full volume. "ACTUALLY, I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE! MTT-BRAND-ALWAYS-CONVENIENT-HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVORED-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH IS JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!!!" 

The humans peered around Mettaton to see a little red soup can sitting on a nearby counter, they all blinked up at Mettaton.

"WELL, DARLING?" Mettaton turned to Twain. "WHY DON'T YOU GO GET IT?" 

Twain went to take a step forward, but Robin pushed them back.

"I'll go," they volunteered.

"NO NO NO NO NO," Mettaton said, waving his hands and holding Robin off. "YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY GO GET IT!! IT WOULD RUIN THE CONTINUITY!" 

"Of a cooking show?" Robin dipped an eyebrow.

"Robin, it's okay," Twain said. "I'll go get it and then we can leave."

"WONDERFUL!" Mettaton said, putting an arm around Twain and giving them a push towards the counter. "GO AHEAD, DARLING!" 

Twain walked over to the counter; but, as they got closer, the countertop sprung up into the air and the cabinet grew dozens of feet in height. 

"BY THE WAY, OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT SCHEDULE," Mettaton said, making his way over to stand next to Twain. "IF YOU CAN'T GET THE CAN IN THE NEXT ONE MINUTE...WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN!!! SO...BETTER START CLIMBING, BEAUTIFUL!" 

Twain looked hopelessly up at the teetering peak of kitchenware and then over to their siblings, who were all being held back by an electric fence and couldn't rush forward to help. There came a phone's ringing again, this time Twain's, and they pulled the phone out of their pocket and picked up.

"Oh no!! There's not enough time to climb up!!" Alphys said, breathing surprisingly calm for the situation. "F-f-fortunately, I might have a plan! When I was upgrading your phone, I added a few...features. You see that huge button that says "JETPACK"?" 

Twain turned their phone over and found the button in question. 

"Watch this," Alphys said. At the very same moment, Twain's phone shot out of their hand and transformed into a jetpack, latching itself onto Twain's back.

"There! You should have just enough fuel to reach the top!" Alphys announced. "Now, get up there!!" 

Alphys hung up and Twain shot into the air. Managing control of the jetpack proved tricky, Twain was just getting the hang of navigating the jetpack when something oozing and gooey broke over their head. Reaching up, they touched the familiar slime of an egg white. Twain looked up to see Mettaton flying above, tossing ingredients down to obscure their path to the top. Twain dodged the best they could, but they had never been the graceful sibling and their autopilot luck from Undyne's battle didn't seem to think this situation was dire enough to come out.

The minute ran out in what felt like much shorter than the prescribed time and Twain was only about half the way to the top and covered in eggs, flour, and milk. Their phone rang again.

"Wh-what!? Wh-Why aren't you m-m-moving?" Alphys panicked. "N-no...! I must not have added enough fuel! D-darnit...I'm sorry...Even when it's something like this, I...I still...! I still..."

"OH NO! WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!" Mettaton interrupted. 

"What?" Alphys asked, her voice doing an odd upturn at the end of the question.

"I FORGOT! RIGHT ABOUT NOW IS WHEN WE HAVE OUR COMMERCIAL BREAK!" 

"Wh...What are you..." Alphys was saying.

"UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MEANS THAT NO ONE IS WATCHING THIS RIGHT NOW!" Mettaton said. "I'M NOT GOING TO DESTROY YOU WITHOUT A LIVE TELEVISION AUDIENCE!! LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE FOILED ME AGAIN, THANKS TO THE BRILLIANT DR. ALPHYS!!! UNTIL NEXT TIME, BEAUTIFUL!! TOODLES!" 

Mettaton vanished to the right, and Twain lowered to the ground.

"U-um...I guess we...did it??" Alphys said. "W-Well, uh, anyway, let's keep heading forward!!!" 

Alphys hung up then, leaving the seven humans alone once again. The electric fence vanished and the other six came running for Twain. Robin's arms were around them in an instant and Twain was horrified to find their older sibling's frame shaking with quiet sobs. 

"Twain, buddy," Alex said, much more lighthearted. "I'd love to hug you, but you are a _mess_!" 

Twain managed a small grin. "Well, I was almost made into a cake." 

"Thank God, you weren't," Bell chuckled, hands on their hips. "You're a great cook but I doubt you would taste very good." 

"Yeah," Laurel said, scribbling skeptically in their notebook. "Lucky that the show went on 'commercial break', huh?" 

"I guess so," Twain shrugged. 

Robin sighed and finally pulled away from Twain, having regained their composure. "Let's just...Let's just get out of here, okay?"

The rest of the group all nodded in agreement and headed on to the next area. As they passed into the next stretch of dirt road, they all noticed an ominous structure looming in the distance. Laurel's phone rang and they picked up in a mindless haze.

"S-see that building in the distance?" Alphys asked, her voice carrying over to the entire group. "That's the CORE. The source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity, by...Uhh, anyway, that's where we're going to go. In the CORE there's an elevator directly to Asgore's castle. And from there...You can go home."

"Home..." Robin murmured after Alphys had hung up.

"You okay, Rob?" Alex asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Huh?" Robin looked up. "Oh...Yeah, I'm fine. Just, um, thinking."

The other six all stared, frozen to the spot, as Robin wandered ahead. They walked slower than usual, their shoulders not held as high as they normally were. Robin's hair was coming loose from their ribbon and they didn't seem to notice or care. The rest of the group felt a pang of heartbreak for their oldest sibling as they took out their phone and dialed a call to someone they knew wouldn't answer.


	17. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is in the air...also sibling disputes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the official halfway* mark for this fic!! Hope I can make it the rest of the way!
> 
> *Take "halfway" with a grain of salt. I've had to add a lot of chapters already, so I really don't know how many there will be at the end.

The group had continued along the Hotland road and had come to an unguarded elevator shaft. Entering the shuttle, they found that only one other floor was available; so, they all headed to R2. As they kept moving forward, the other six members of the group kept wary eyes on Robin. Their worries for the eldest human increased every time they redialed Toriel's number on their cell phone and received no answer, only to rinse and repeat in another two minutes. 

Just to the left of the elevator, the kids ran into sans again. His sentry station still had snow on the roof, despite the Hotland heat, and he was selling hot dogs instead of doing anything a sentry does. Bell was ecstatic to see sans again, dragging Laurel over even though they looked less than enthused about seeing the pun-making skeleton again. Twain struck up a friendly conversation with Vulkin, glad to see the little volcano monster without having to battle them. Hop and Frisk went to talk with the only other monster in the area and Alex went to talk to Robin, who was standing by the edge of the platform with their phone pressed to their ear.

"Rob, give it a rest, huh?" Alex asked, half-laughing.

"Huh?" Robin looked up at their sibling, and then down to the phone in their hand. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize I was bothering you."

"No, it's not that," Alex said. "We're all just a little worried about you, Robin. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Robin insisted. "Just a touch homesick, you know. Wish Mom would answer her phone."

"Hmm," Alex nodded. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. If she wants to talk, she'll call you back."

"And if she doesn't?" Robin asked, crossing their arms and staring vacantly out at the steaming pools of lava surrounding them.

"Then she doesn't," Alex shrugged. "Maybe...Maybe it's time you start thinking about the possibility she's not going to call."

Robin scrunched up their nose like they were trying to keep from crying; but before they could open their mouth to reply, Laurel's accusatory voice rang out above every other noise in the area.

"This isn't a hot dog!! This is a water sausage in a bun!" Laurel was yelling at sans. "You're nothing but a con man!!!"

"don't you mean a _con skeleton_?" sans winked.

"That wasn't even good," Laurel crossed their arms and blew a strand of hair out of their eyes.

"How about a  _skele_ con man?" Bell suggested. 

sans lit up like it was Christmas morning and Bell was Santa Claus. Laurel blanched at their sibling, trying to formulate an intelligent response.

"My own family!" was all they could manage, turning away as Bell and sans had a good laugh over their own jokes.

* * *

"Aw, what?" Twain drooped as they entered a small dusty area off the main road. "I tried to accept Napstablook's friend request, and it rejected itself!" 

"Same," Bell said. "That's very Napstablook, though, don't you think?" 

"Hmmpf!" Hop grumbled, staring dejectedly at their phone. "I would have liked to decide for myself. Now I'll never be friends with Blook!" 

"Hop, you've been friends with Blook for years," Alex said. "No internet status can change that."

"It's the principal of the thing," Hop sniffed, turning back up onto the main road. 

The group went down the road to a larger clearing. The seven barely all had time to gather and take in the puzzle before them, when Alex's phone rang.

"Hello?" Alex picked up.

"H...hi...!" Alphys stammered out. "It's Dr. Alphys. This puzzle is kinda...um...timing-based. Y-You see those switches over there?"

Alex looked to the far wall and saw three switches all lined up in a row. "Yeah...?"

"Y-You'll have to press all three of them within three seconds," Alphys explained. "I'll t-try to help you with the rhythm!" 

Alex blinked at their phone as Alphys abruptly hung up.

"Alright," Alex said, brandishing their Tough Glove and flexing their right arm. "This should be done in no time! Or rather, in three seconds."

Stepping onto the conveyor belt, Alex started punching out at the switches. All was going smoothly, they were able to hit the first two switches without a hitch. However, when they got to the third switch; Alex's phone ringing interrupted their rhythm and they coasted off the conveyor belt with the puzzle incomplete.

"OK!" Alphys was saying as Alex picked up. "Now press the third one!!!"

Alex stared into the distance as they waited for Alphys to realize what she'd done. There was a long pause of awkward silence, and then the forcefield blocking their progression to the next area went down.

"H-h-hey!" Alphys exclaimed, a little too loudly. "Looks like you!!! Only need to press!! Two of them!"

The phone clicked off.

"Wow, that really _was_ convenient, huh!?" Laurel asked in facetious naïveté as they rolled over the conveyor belts.

"Okay, okay," Robin said. "That was a little suspicious, I admit it. Let's just get through Hotland in one piece and then worry about pulling the rug out from under Alphys, okay? Right now, I'm just glad she's on our side." 

Crossing to the next room, the humans all gave out a collective groan. The puzzle before them was by far the most confusing they had encountered yet.

"Thank God Alphys is just going to solve it for us," Bell dusted their tutu off and waited for the next phone call. Instead, they were met with a status update ping.

_that's the last time i try to help with a puzzle lmao_

"What the hell??" Alex said as they read the status update.

Twain's phone rang and they picked up to hear Alphys' voice on the other end of the receiver.

"Uh, h-h-hey!" Alphys said. "I'm going to the bathroom, so I'll be MIA for a bit. I'm...I'm sure you can handle this puzzle yourselves!" 

Twain bit their lip, reluctantly giving a polite reply. "Oh, that's not a problem! We can definitely figure it out. Thanks!"

Twain hung their phone up and turned back to their siblings. 

"Yeah, thanks for _nothing_!" Bell shouted to the cavern's ceiling. 

"Bell!" Robin scolded. "There's no use in getting angry, let's keep our heads and solve this puzzle."

"Fine," Bell grumbled, crossing their arms and pouting.

"It's actually fairly simple," Laurel said, straightening their glasses. "We just need to jump on the buttons to change directions of the arrows it looks like."

Frisk blinked at Laurel and then broke away to begin the puzzle. 

"Hey, Frisk, maybe let Laurel figure out the pattern first?" Alex called out, but Frisk was already launching into the air. 

The other six watched in astonishment as Frisk went effortlessly through the intricate puzzle, landing on the other side in no time. They smiled and gave a wave from the other end of the room.

"How did you do that!?" Hop broke into a huge grin, impressed. 

"Yeah, uh..." Laurel rubbed the back of their neck. "Could you do that again so I can write the moves down?"

Frisk nodded and came back around on the conveyor belt. They went through the puzzle again, slower this time; and Laurel noted down every jump in their notebook. Then, stepping onto the steam vents themself, Laurel made it to the other side. Once on solid ground, Laurel guided their other siblings over the puzzle, calling out directions as the others leapt across one after the other.

"Heh, guess that wasn't so hard after all!" Bell smiled down at Frisk. "You're something else, Frisk!"

The seven humans kept going, passing through an area with a table and computerized safe. Hop poked their nose into a mouse hole near the ground, listening for the little rodent's squeak. 

"Yeuck!" Bell groaned, looking down at their phone. "She's still hung up on this anime??" 

"Oh, so you got the Mew Mew Discourse update too?" Alex laughed.

"Yeah," Bell muttered. "I want to break the barrier just to expose Alphys to better anime than this."

"Well, apparently, Mew Mew 2 'ruins Mew Mew's entire character arc'," Laurel recited. "Sounds pretty serious to me."

Bell laughed. "Whatever, let's just get going."

The group left the area with the mouse hole and kept going. The next area seemed like just a plain stretch of road, and the humans breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally," Robin remarked. "No puzzles, no monsters attacking, no-"

"Hey! You guys! Stop!" 

"-worries," Robin finished, clenching their fist and turning around to see two Royal Guardsman coming towards them.

"Oh man, it's those guards from back at the Lab," Alex recalled.

The guards approached, stopping a couple of feet away from the humans.

"We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a bunch of humans wearing striped shirts," the bunny guard, labeled RG01, said. "They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now."

"Humans in striped shirts, you say?" Alex asked nervously, hands half-raised to fight.

"I know, sounds scary, huh?" RG01 said. "Well, just stay chill. We'll bring you someplace safe, OK?"

The other six all looked to Robin for a decision.

"O...K...?" Robin said hesitantly, deciding it was better to play along and not blow their cover. Gathering their skirts, they lead the group to follow the Royal Guardsmen. 

They made it about three feet before the guards stopped. The dragon guard, labeled RG02, murmured something unintelligible to RG01. 

"...Huh? What is it, bro?" RG01 asked. "The shirts these guys are wearing?...like, what about it?"

The guards turned around to look at the kids, all of whom were wearing striped shirts except for Robin. 

"Are you thinkin...What I'm thinkin?" RG01 asked his partner, who nodded in return. "Bummer. This is, like...Mega embarrassing. We, like, actually totally have to kill you guys and stuff."

"Over my dead body," Robin said, stepping to the front.

"Hey, man, look..." RG01 said. "We're only here for the humans."

"I am human!" Robin said.

"What? But you're not wearing a striped shirt," RG01 said.

Robin furrowed their brow. "But-"

"Nice try, dude! It's cool you made friends with these humans, but you know the rules. Sorry, bro!" RG01 said, ushering Robin behind him and RG02. "Now, stand back. This isn't gonna be pretty." 

"I'll say!" Alex rushed forward, connecting their fist to RG01's chestplate and starting the battle themself. Alex felt their soul get pulled into battle and stood alone against the two guards.

"Two-on-one? Hardly seems fair, bro," RG01 said.

"Don't worry," Alex said. "I'll go easy on you two."

"Like, team attack!" RG01 shouted. 

"...team attack." RG02 echoed.

The first round began, and Alex dove to avoid the stream of intersecting  attacks as they floated around them. One attack clubbed them in the stomach, taking a chunk of their HP; but Alex managed to come out of the first round alive. Breathing heavily, they looked up at RG02 and noticed sweat dripping out of his armor. Alex remembered how Undyne had collapsed from heat exhaustion, giving them a chance to get away. Reaching out, Alex wiped away some of the cooling dirt spread across RG02's armor. 

"Like, perish and stuff," RG01 said.

"...getting...warmer..." RG02 murmured, more sweat pouring from his armor. 

This time, when the attacks spiraled out, there was a green glowing emblem floating in the center. Launching at the green magic, Alex pinged against it and saw it turn a slightly more yellow color. They pinged again and again and again until they stepped back and saw the emblem was now glowing red. 

"...can't...take it..." RG02 said. "...armor...too...HOT!!!" 

With that, RG02 threw off his heavy armor to reveal a totally ripped chest. Raising an eyebrow, Alex looked over at RG01 and noticed he, who had been cool and collected the whole battle, was suddenly sweating bullets. Looking between the two, Alex came to a realization. Leaning in RG01's direction, Alex whispered into the bunny guard's ear. 

"Be honest with your feelings, bro," Alex said.

"I...I..." RG01 stammered. 

Another attack began, but something was off this time. One half of the attack was synched and orderly, but the other half was sporadic and flying off the battle ground. Alex dodged the best they could, but with half of the attack being unpredictable; they couldn't help but suffer some damages. Luckily, the turn ended abruptly when RG01 spoke up.

"D-dude..." RG01 said to RG02. "I can't...I can't take this anymore! Not like this!" 

"What the heck is going on?" Alex heard Bell mutter from behind them.

"Like, 02! I like...I like, LIKE you, bro!" RG01 confessed. "The way you fight...The way you talk...I love doing team attacks with you. I love standing here with you, bouncing and waving our weapons in sync...02...I, like, want to stay like this forever..."

"..." RG02 was speechless. "...."

"Uh..." RG01 began to sweat again. "I mean, uh...Psyche! Gotcha, bro!! Haha!"

"...01" RG02 said.

"Y-yeah, bro??" 

"...do you want to...get some ice cream...after this?"

"Sure dude! Haha!" RG01 said, laughing in relief.

The two guards looked at each other happily, and Alex smiled to themself. Hitting the spare, the Royal Guardsmen vanished. 

The battleground cleared and Alex was left standing face to face across from Robin. Alex was startled to find their older sibling breathing heavily and staring tearfully up at them.

"Robin..." Alex held out their hands, as if they were approaching a startled animal. "Everything's okay, see? I'm fine."

"Yeah, well, I thought...I thought..." Robin panted, clutching their chest. 

"I know. Me too," Alex said. "It's alright though. Okay?"

Robin took a deep breath, trying to steady themself. "Okay," they nodded.

"Come on, let's go," Alex said. 

Robin nodded again and took up the lead, continuing up the road.

* * *

"Okay, I'm back!" Alphys was saying over Robin's phone. If the room they'd walked into wasn't do dark, everyone would have been rolling their eyes at each other in exasperation. "A-another dark room, huh? Don't worry! M-my hacking skills have got things covered!"

They had suspected another MTT-Brand Ambush when they walked into the dark room, and the lights turning on only confirmed the children's fears. The lights went up, and the seven humans found themselves standing behind a cardboard frame of some kind. On the other side, was Mettaton, dressing in a red suit and sitting at a desk.

"Are you serious?" Alphys said.

"OHHHHH YEEESSSSS!!" Mettaton replied. "WELCOME BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS! AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENTS ARE OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE! BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS! PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!!"

"Is this guy for real?" Alex jabbed a thumb at Mettaton. "We'll never play into your-"

"METTATON!! LOOK!" Hop shouted, hoisting a dog over their head and holding it up to the camera. 

"WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY!" Mettaton exclaimed. "I CAN SEE THE HEADLINE NOW: 'A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE.' FRANKLY, I'M BLOWN AWAY."

" _Hop!_ " Bell whispered harshly. " _What do you think you're doing!?_ "

"Report this one, Mettaton!!" Hop jumped up and down, cuddling the little white dog close to their chest.

"YOU GOT IT, SWEETHEART!" Mettaton said. "ATTENTION, VIEWERS! OUR CORRESPONDENT HAS FOUND...A DOG! THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! IT'S THE FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR!"

Hop beamed as the audience aww-ed at the little puppy.

"LOOK AT ITS LITTLE EARS, TINY PAWS, FLUFFY TAIL..." Mettaton paused. "...WAIT A SECOND! THAT'S NOT A TAIL! THAT'S..."

"Hop, drop that thing!" Robin ran forward and slapped the dog out of their sibling's hands.

"...A FUSE!" Mettaton announced. "THAT'S RIGHT...THAT DOG...IS A BOMB!!!"

"You stupid evil robot!" Hop screamed, bursting into tears over the dog-turned-bomb.

"BUT DON'T PANIC!" Mettaton continued. "YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!!!" 

The cardboard frame fell away, revealing the rest of the room that was filled with other arbitrary items. 

Alex closed their eyes and threw their head back in irritation. "You're not telling me-"

"OH MY! IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!" Mettaton exclaimed. "THAT PRESENT'S A BOMB! THAT BASKETBALL'S A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS ARE...!" 

"Watch out!" Bell shouted as big, blocky white letters fell from the ceiling and exploded on the ground.

"This place makes no sense!" Laurel said.

"BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS...IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THESE BOMBS..." Mettaton flew up further into the room, revealing an even bigger bomb with a timer on it. "THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU ALL TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES!! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING 'LIVE' ANY LONGER! HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING! OUR NINE VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!!"

"D-don't worry!" Alphys was saying to Robin. "I installed a bomb-defusing program on all of your phones! Use the 'defuse' option when the bomb is in the DEFUSE ZONE! N-Now, go get 'em!"

Alphys hung up and the humans all looked confusedly between each other. But the clock counting down over their heads was indication enough that they didn't have time to wonder what to do, and had to figure something out right then and there.

"Okay," Robin took a deep breath. "There are six bombs and seven of us, we can do this. Alex, you take the basketball. Bell, you go for the glass of water. Laurel, you take the movie script. Twain, the gift. Hop, the dog. Frisk, you come with me and we'll take the video game. Now go!"

Not wasting another second, the group split off to their separate bombs.

Hop tackled the little white dog almost the instant they hit the ground running. They felt a battledome whoosh up around them and then the dog bomb was floating around before them, occasionally turning green as it swept through the green defusing bar. Taking their phone out, they found the 'defuse' option on the back. It took a few tries, but they managed to hit the button while the dog was in the green. They breathed a sigh of relief as the dog was successfully defused.

Laurel ran down and to the right where the movie script was shifting around on the middle of a conveyor belt. Before stepping on the conveyor belt, Laurel took a minute to get a sense of the script bomb's movement pattern; then, they walked onto the belt and collided neatly with the script. Once in the battledome, Laurel once again took a minute to memorize the pattern the bomb was moving in. Hitting the bomb defusal button once, the script turned green and the bomb was defused.

As Laurel was coming out of their bomb defusal, Twain was passing them on the conveyor belt to go to theirs. Since the gift was just sitting there, Twain had no problem catching it. In the battledome, the bomb just went over the defuse bar in a straight line and Twain easily defused the bomb.

Alex, on the other hand, had been trying to defuse the basketball bomb for thirty seconds by the time three other bombs had been taken care of. At this point, they were just repeatedly pressing the button without any pattern or direction. Although less refined as their siblings', Alex's method of defusal worked out eventually and they managed to get the ball when it was in the green.

Bell had never worked so hard to get hit in their life. Usually, their ballet training was used for dodging attacks and now they couldn't seem to manage catching the extremely agile glass of water they'd been assigned to defuse. After the third time barely missing the glass as it coasted by, Bell stamped their foot in frustration and stood grumbling with their arms crossed. As they stood sulking, something small impacted on their hip and Bell found themself pulled into battle with the extremely agile glass of water. Bell lit up triumphantly, whipping out their phone and pressing the bomb defusal option. The bomb went green on the first try and Bell gave a little leap of victory.

Down at the bottom left corner of the room, Frisk and Robin were trying to get to the game bomb. Robin had gotten past the laser field and urged Frisk to just wait for them to defuse the game, but Frisk didn't listen. They had never taken warnings seriously and now they were marching through the laser beams like they weren't even there. However, in their confident stride, it slipped Frisk's mind that the bright blue lasers served as a reminder sometimes you did have to stop and wait to move forward. The laser slammed into their moving body and took a chunk of Frisk's HP.

"Frisk!" Robin yelled, their heart flying into frenzied palpitations. Forgetting the laser beams themself, Robin ran forward and grabbed Frisk; pulling them into the clearing with them and holding them tightly to their chest. 

"Are you okay!?" Robin gasped out, their hands shaking as they held onto the youngest child.

Frisk nodded, pulling back slightly and gently patted Robin's face to bring them back to their current situation. Robin looked around and saw the clock was running out of time; then, they looked back at the game and fixed it with a glare. Standing up, they brushed their robe off and grabbed at the bomb.

Once in the battledome, Robin wasted no time. Pulling out their phone, they brandished it like a weapon and slammed the defuse option. The game bomb went green and the clock stopped counting down. Taking a deep breath, Robin grabbed Frisk's hand and the two ran up to where their other siblings were gathered around the big bomb.

Theme music. And Mettaton entered from the left.

"WELL DONE, DARLINGS!" Mettaton said. "YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL OF THE BOMBS! IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE THEM, THE BIG BOMB WOULD HAVE EXPLODED IN TWO MINUTES. NOW IT WON'T EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES!"

"What a relief," Bell said in a monotone, rolling their eyes at the killer robot.  

"INSTEAD IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS!" Mettaton announced. 

" _What!?_ " Robin screamed, grabbing the sides of their head frantically.

"GOODBYE, DARLINGS!" Mettaton cackled. And cackled. And kept cackling. After more than two seconds, Mettaton paused and looked around. "AH. IT SEEMS THE BOMB ISN'T GOING OFF."

"I wonder why!" Laurel exclaimed in mock astonishment as their phone rang. 

"That's b-because!!!" Alphys' voice spoke up. "While you were monologuing...I...!!! I f...fix...Um...I ch-change..."

"OH NO!" Mettaton picked up. "YOU DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS."

"Yeah! That's what I did!" Alphys said.

"CURSES! IT SEEMS I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN!" Mettaton declared. "CURSE YOU, HUMAN! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING SO MUCH! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR TUNING IN!!! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!" 

"W-wow...W-we really showed him, huh?" 

"Yeah," Laurel muttered, infuriated. 

"...H-hey," Alphys said. "I know I was kind of weird at first...But I really think I'm getting more...Uh, more...More confident about guiding you guys! S-so don't worry about that b-big d-dumb robot...I-I'll protect you from him! A-and if it really c-came down to it,we could just turn..."

"Turn what!?" Laurel wrinkled their brows.

"Um, nevermind!" Alphys rushed out. "Later!" 

"Uuuurrrrrghhhh!!!" Laurel raged, jamming their phone back in their pocket. "See!? She's fixing the whole thing! Mettaton was practically feeding her lines this time!! I mean, how can she think-"

"Laurel," Robin bit out, pressing a hand over their eyes and taking a sharp, unsteady breath. "Can we...Can we just drop it for now?"

"S-sure, Robin," Laurel murmured, their face turning concerned all of a sudden. 

"Thanks," Robin said, abruptly turning and walking away. "Let's go."

* * *

_She'll find another kid, and instantly forget about you. You'll NEVER see her again. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. NEVER SEE-_

The sharp sound of a phone ringing snapped Alex out of their own thoughts. The echo flower from way back in Waterfall was still pounding that message into their head, and it was growing more prominent than ever. Looking up, they saw that it had been Robin's phone that had rung and Alex felt themself grow frustrated with how quickly and hopefully their older sibling answered the call when it was so painfully obvious that Toriel wasn't going to call them now or at any point afterwards.

"Hello?" Robin asked breathlessly. 

"Um..."

Robin's entire frame sagged at the sound of Alphys' voice, but didn't stop her from speaking.

"I noticed you've been kind of quiet..." Alphys said, voice full of genuine concern. "Are you w-worried about meeting Asgore...?"

Robin sighed and everyone could hear restrained sobs mingled in their breath when they spoke. "Y-yeah, I guess."

"W-well, don't worry, okay?" Alphys said. "Th-the king is a really nice guy...I'm sure you can talk to him, and...W-with your human souls, you can all pass through the barrier! S-so, no worrying, OK? J-just forget about it and smile!" 

Alphys hung up and Robin bit their lip to keep from crying. 

Twain looked up at their sibling with sad, caring eyes. "Robin...?"

"I'm fine," Robin insisted. Clenching their phone tightly, they dialed a call.

"Robin, please don't," Bell said, stepping forward. 

"What?" Robin spun around, phone pressed to their ear.

"She's not going to answer," Bell looked down and away, rubbing their arm.

"I'm not giving up on her yet, even if you have," Robin said, turning back around as the phone rang out. When that call went unanswered, they redialed immediately. 

Seeing Robin turn so deliberately stubborn upon getting something they knew wouldn't happen snapped something in Alex. Suddenly, they felt a mighty rage grow inside them. Anger at Robin, at Toriel, at Flowey, at the whole stupid underground. But of these things, there was only one Alex could take their anger out on directly right then and there. Storming forward, Alex reached out and snatched the phone from Robin's hand. 

“Hey!” Robin shouted, making a grab for their cell phone. “Mom gave that to me!”

“Yeah? And what good has it done you!? She never answers!” Alex shouted, sweat beading along their brow from the intense warmth in Hotland.

“She just.. I just have to keep-”

“What? Keep calling her again and again and again? God, Rob, when are you going to realize that she doesn’t want to talk to you!? She doesn’t want to be reminded that she lost us!” Alex fumed.

“She didn’t lose me!” Robin protested.

Laurel murmured something about the noise attracting monsters, but Alex’s voice climbed over them.

“OH, COME ON!” Alex gestured dramatically with their arms. “What’d you think was gonna happen when we left the Ruins!? Hold Frisk’s hand to the barrier, say goodbye, and then go back home? There’s no going back, Rob. _We will never see her again_!”

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Robin spat back. The other kids jumped, Robin hardly ever shouted like that and they _never_ screamed at one of their siblings like that. "No one's going to tell me if I'm going to see my mother again or not! Especially not you, Alex!" 

"She's not our mother, Robin!" Alex shouted, brandishing Robin's phone like they'd like to smash it to pieces.

"Shut up, Alex!" Bell shouted, cheeks burning. "Don't talk to them like that!" 

"You're being a jerk!" Twain jumped in, infuriated at how cruel Alex was being.

“We left. And she’s gonna find another kid and instantly forget about us!” Alex said, addressing the entire group now.

"That's not fair!" Hop protested. 

"And it's not true!" Robin snarled. "She could never forget us. You have no idea what you're talking about!" 

"And _you_ are afraid of realizing the truth! We are leaving the underground, and we aren't turning back!" Alex growled. Then, they brought their arm back and moved to chuck Robin's phone into the nearest pool of magma.

"STOP!" Frisk cried out, running forward and kicking Alex in the shin. Alex hunched over a little bit, giving Frisk an opportunity to grab the phone from their hand. 

Robin was staring gape-mouthed at Alex, their eyes empty like someone had cut a wire in their brain.

"Robin, are you okay?" Laurel asked, looking down at their sibling's hands and finding them shaking and closing together. 

"M...Maybe..." Robin started saying, their voice tight and hollowed out. "Maybe you aren't turning back. But I am."

"Wh-What?" Bell was the first to react. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going home," Robin said. "My _real_ home. And...And if you guys don't want to come, that's fine. But I'm leaving."

"How are you even planning on getting back there?" Alex challenged, crossing their arms.

Robin made a low growling noise and squared up their shoulders. “Like this,” they said before storming forward and walking away in the direction they’d came.

“Robin!” Bell called after them, but they were determined to keep walking as if nothing were affecting them. “Alex, do something!”

“Why should I!? They obviously don’t want to be here.”

“We need them, you idiot!” Bell snapped. “Plus, they won’t make it all the way back home with nothing but a plastic knife and a pocketful of instant noodles! We’ve _barely_ made it to this point alive! Go get them!”

Alex took a deep breath and made no further argument. Bell was right. So, they surged forward and caught up with Robin in a few quick strides.

"Robin, stop," Alex said, grabbing their arm. "You can't go by yourself."

"We'll see," Robin said, shaking Alex's grip off and continuing backwards. 

“I’m not going to let you get yourself killed just because you’re angry,” Alex said, spinning Robin around to face them. “We go together. As a family. Or not at all.”

“No,” Robin shook them off again. “I’m done. Done with this whole stupid thing. We haven’t been together as a family since we left Toriel in the Ruins. If we’re going to be split up, I’m choosing which direction I go in. Congratulations, Alex, you’re in charge now! And I’m going home.”

Robin turned and began to walk away again. 

"Alex, don't let them leave!" Bell begged, panicked hands rushing through their curls. "They'll die!" 

"Do you hear that, Robin!?" Alex shouted after their sibling. "You'll die if you go alone!"

"We'll die if we keep going!" Robin stopped to turn around and yell at Alex. "Asgore wants us all dead, remember!? I'll take my chances on going back to the Ruins."

"Why do you have to make this so difficult!?" Alex groaned, surging forward. 

"What are you d-" Robin cut off as Alex grabbed them around the waist and threw them over their shoulder. "Hey! Put me down!!" 

“We’re going to The Barrier,” Alex announced, turning back to the group. “All of us are.”

“Let me go!” Robin screamed, pounding their fists into Alex’s back and kicking against their side.

“You’re coming even if I have to carry you like this the whole way,” Alex said, and started walking again. “It’s not safe down here for one human to go it alone.”

"What do you know about that!?" Robin shouted. "I've done it before, I can do it again!" 

"Yeah, you have gone through here alone before," Alex said. "And from what you told me, you almost died!" 

"Ugh, I don't care!" Robin sobbed, clawing to be let go. "I just want to go home! I never even wanted to leave!"

"Well, you did!" Alex snapped. "And now I'm not gonna let you turn back and die down here. We're moving forward. Now!"

Alex stormed to the head of the group, and the others followed behind in trepidation. None of them had ever seen Robin lose their cool once in all the years they'd been living together. Now, their sibling was overwrought with frustration and was disheveled and irrational and just so aggressively...not Robin. Not knowing what else to do, the younger siblings stayed silent and felt overwhelming guilt rush over them as all seven of them continued through Hotland with only Robin's sobs to accompany them. 


	18. Spider Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really long chapter!! I think it beats out Dogsong in length. But it was really fun to write!!

Robin eventually calmed down. Their screams had quickly dissolved into frustrated sobbing and their kicks and punches grew less and less forceful. When the fight went out of them, their body went limp against Alex’s grip and they resigned themselves to being carried through Hotland like a sack of flour. Alex calmed down as well, their tight shoulders drooping and their scowling face softening into something more concerned for their sibling than the anger that had been there before. 

Frisk considered going back a save to avoid the whole fight, but the last time they had saved was way back before the guard battle. Besides, they understood that no matter how many saves they went back, they couldn't stop Robin from feeling the way they did and they couldn't stop Alex from reacting the way they would when Robin eventually had the same breakdown at a later point if it had been prevented this time. They didn't want to grow too dependent on their ability to load and save either; they hadn't had it before they fell, they assumed they wouldn't have it when they got out of the underground. When they were on the surface, they had to be prepared to not have an easy way out of wrong decisions; and they figured there was no better opportunity than now to learn how to make things right after a mistake was made.

The group traveled for a while on the Hotland road, but Alex eventually turned off the main drag and looked for a place to stop. Walking down an unused footpath, Alex found a series of smaller caves within the great cavern; giving the area a once over, Alex ducked into one of the caves and beckoned for the others to follow. 

The five other kids followed Alex and ended up in a fairly spacious cavern, at least big enough for all seven of them to fit in. It was small and sweltering and the air was full of red dust, but it was safe. The only source of light was the consistent warm glow coming in at the cave entrance from the burning pools of lava in Hotland. 

“We’ll stop here to sleep for the night,” Alex announced, using “night” in relative terms since the time of day was indiscernible in the underground. Gently, so as not to jostle them, Alex lifted Robin off their shoulder and held them in their arms. "Heh, looks like Robin is one step ahead of us." 

"They're asleep?" Hop whispered, peeking their nose over Alex's arm to look at their oldest sibling. Robin was sleeping soundly in their sibling's arms, chest rising and falling slowly with each intake of breath. After how worked up they had been earlier, their siblings felt relieved that they were calm enough to fall asleep.

"After all of that crying, their eyes must have been really sore," Laurel said, brushing a flyaway strand of red hair off of Robin's face. 

"You think they'll be okay?" Twain asked, patted one of Robin's hands.

"Robin's a lot stronger than they look. They're stronger than me, in more ways than one," Alex admitted. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I need to apologize to them when they wake up, though. You guys were right. I shouldn't have yelled at them like I did."

"No, you shouldn't have," Bell sniffed, but then looked down at their feet. "But...Maybe...We shouldn't have forced them to come along in the first place?"

"But we did," Alex sighed, setting Robin down gently on the cave floor. "We can't turn back now. Besides, Laurel said it first: if we can break the barrier, everyone gets a happy ending."

"Yeah, that's right!" Hop agreed. "When we break the barrier, we'll go back and get Mom and she can come to the surface with us!"

"And then Robin can be happy again," Twain said, sitting down on the cave floor.

"And all of the monsters will go free," Laurel added.

"And we'll be free, too," Bell said, slumping down the wall and laying down.

"Before all of that," Alex said. "Let's all get some sleep, okay?"

The other kids nodded in agreement, and laid down to rest for a bit.

* * *

Frisk woke up to the familiar sound of rustling skirts. Peeking their eyes open, they saw a pair of bare feet tiptoe past them and the rich purple hems of Robin's robe flutter down on the dirt floor. Propping themself up on one elbow, they watched to see what Robin would do. Their gut twisted with nerves that, as Robin reached the cave's exit, they would just walk away and never come back without so much as a goodbye. But, as Frisk was learning, not everyone was heartless enough to do that.

Robin stopped at the mouth of the cavern, staring out at the never-changing magmatic glow of Hotland. Frisk watched as they reached back behind their head and untied their ribbon, letting their copper hair swish long down their back in a silky sheet.

Stretching the ribbon taut over their hands, Robin stared absently at the faded fabric. If they closed their eyes and focused on nothing but the texture of the ribbon, they could picture a million different memories tied up in the frayed edges of their signature accessory. Their mind was a million miles away, back before any of this had happened, when they heard the soft shifting of little feet on the cave's floor. Giving a small gasp, Robin looked over their shoulder to see Frisk standing a couple of feet back.

"F-Frisk," Robin breathed out, their voice soft and tired. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Frisk didn't respond. They looked up at Robin and their face grimaced as if they were trying very hard to communicate something without words. 

"Is there...something you want to ask me?" Robin asked.

Frisk nodded.

"Oh, well, take your time," Robin nodded, waiting for Frisk to be ready to speak.

Frisk took a deep breath.

“Did you…” Frisk began, struggling to get the words out. “Did you ever want to leave?”

“Leave?” Robin raised their eyebrows. “You mean leave the Underground?”

Frisk nodded.

“Well,” Robin slumped down into a sitting position, knitting their fingers into the hair ribbon they were still mangling between their palms. “Something you should know, Frisk, is I didn’t have a very good life on the surface. My birth parents, uh, didn’t really want me. Actually, they were the ones who...the ones who...th-the..."

Frisk sat down across from Robin, giving a concerned look as Robin faltered.

"They threw me down here," Robin spat out at last, avoiding eye contact after it was out. "I remember I used to wear this ribbon all the time to make myself look cute. I thought if I looked cuter, that my birth parents wouldn't dislike me so much. Guess it didn't work though."

Robin took a deep breath and stared out at the scenery. "They actually threw me down the waterfall," they said, arms gripped tightly around the tops of their knees. "The first part of the underground I saw was the dump, if you can imagine. After that I...Well, suffice it to say, I had a bit of a bad time out in the underground. I had a run-in with Undyne and she, well..." Robin picked at the long sleeves of their robe before shoving the white fabric up to reveal talon-shaped scars lacing up both of their forearms. "There's a reason I almost died down here before, let's just say that. But I eventually made it to the doors to the Ruins in the Snowdin Forest and Toriel took me in." 

Robin took a deep breath and looked to their toes. "Hah. I suppose, in a way, throwing me down here was the best thing they ever did for me," Robin half-smiled, not believing their own words. "When I met Toriel, I don't know, she really seemed to care about me and want me around. That was something I'd never felt before. So, why would I ever want to leave the only place I had ever felt at home to return to a place where no one cared about me? And since I knew what it was like out in the rest of the underground, it was easier for me to understand why Toriel didn't want any of us to go past those doors."

Frisk smiled and patted Robin’s barefoot. Then, they turned their shoulders a little and gestured at the rest of the group.

“Did any of them ever want to leave?” Robin clarified, making sure they caught Frisk’s question correctly.

Frisk nodded and turned back to face Robin.

“The more kids there were living at Home, the less wanted to leave,” Robin said. “Alex tried to leave once, even battled Toriel. But something sent them running back apologizing for trying to leave. Never told me what. Although, I suspect our favorite flower is to blame.”

Robin sighed and looked over at their siblings. Their eyes stopped on Bell, who was using their tutu as a pillow and was cuddled under Laurel’s sweatered arm.

“Bell tried to leave,” Robin said, turning sad all of a sudden. "Bell tried to leave a lot. They would wait until they thought everyone else was asleep and then try to sneak out of the exit. Alex and I always caught them in time. Having the shoe on the other foot really makes me wonder if we should have stopped them."

Frisk and Robin glanced over to Bell, who turned in their sleep to get closer to Laurel.

"When Laurel showed up, they stopped trying to leave so much," Robin said. "Laurel wanted to leave but didn't want to just leave on their own without any plan; so, they waited and Bell waited with them. I never thought that..."

Robin trailed off, shaking their head. Frisk gave them a confused look which Robin caught.

"You changed everything, Frisk," Robin said. "I'm not-I'm not blaming you for what's happening or for what's going to happen it's just...I don't know." 

Frisk nodded, understanding that sometimes feeling something didn't always come with an explanation.

"Anyways, Twain never wanted to leave," Robin picked up. "They loved being at Home. But they didn't love the idea of being left behind. And Hop...Well, Hop would have jumped at the chance to leave if the rest of us were going, but they wouldn’t want to leave without the whole group. Guess they were happy you showed up and were stubborn enough to get past Toriel."

"I'm...sorry..." Frisk managed, wanting Robin to know what they were sorry for. Reaching into their pocket, they took out Robin's phone that they had rescued from Alex and held it out to its owner.

Robin blinked, then smiled and took the phone into their hands. They understood all that Frisk had meant to say with those two words: that they were sorry that Robin was having such a hard time and that they knew how much they missed being with Toriel. Reaching out, they ruffled Frisk's hair and gave a single laugh.

"Don't worry about me. I meant what I said," Robin turned to look out at the underground. "No one's going to tell me if I can see my mother again or not. I'll see her again, even if I have to wait for the Barrier to break. I can do that. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's how to wait."

* * *

Bell stared at the cave's ceiling, wondering what time it was on the surface. It could be midafternoon up there for all they knew, but where they were it felt like it was early morning before the rest of the world was awake. They didn't usually like this time of day, too early to do anything and too late to go back to sleep. Giving a sigh, they turned on their side and tried to fall back asleep anyways. But, as they were closing their eyes, a soft sound caught their attention and they shot up into a sitting position.

"Laurel?" Bell asked, looking over to where Laurel lay next to them. "Are you awake?"

Laurel's body shifted, and they turned to look at Bell. In the dim burn of Hotland coming into the cave, Bell could barely make out their sibling's face. But what they could see was that Laurel's glasses were off and their face was glistening in the glow of the lava. 

"Are you...crying?" Bell asked. 

"No," Laurel sniffed, wiping their nose on their sleeve. "I just was...uhm..."

"Laurel," Bell said, making their voice sound stern. "What's wrong?" 

"I..." Laurel faltered. "W-We're going to make it to the surface."

"Of course," Bell said, wrinkling their brow. 

"We're going to make it to the surface..." Laurel repeated. "And...And then what?" 

"Then..." Bell shook their head, confused. "Then, we live our lives." 

"Yeah, but," Laurel drew their knees up to their chest. "As a family or as separate strangers?" 

"Laurel, listen," Bell sighed. "Even if I get to the surface and I end up living with my other family, that doesn't mean I'm gonna forget about you. Or-Or forget about any of you. How could I even begin to do that? Do you think you mean that little to me? That you're just a means to an end for me to get out of the underground?"

Laurel shifted uncomfortably, not meeting Bell's gaze.

"My God you do," Bell whispered, then pinched their nose and inhaled deeply. "Laurel, there's a reason I wanted everyone to come. When I was younger, I just wanted to leave. But you guys...all became a part of my family. And I didn't want to leave you! I-If I could have gotten Toriel to come with us, I would have. So, don't think that I'm gonna ditch you guys the second I see the sun again."

"But we won't be together all the time," Laurel rubbed the back of their neck. "The surface world is really big, and we're all going to want to do our own thing eventually."

"What so you pick one thing and that's all you can ever do?" Bell challenged. "I can choose to have two families if I want to. I can choose to go off on my own for a bit and then choose to come back home. And, as for not being together all the time; Laurel, I have been away from my surface family for years, okay? And they're all still my family. So, even if we don't all live together, we're not going to stop caring about each other or stop being the family we've been the entire time we've been down here. I'm not going to let it happen and neither is anyone else. So, don't _you_ let it happen either."

"You're right," Laurel sniffled. "I can't give up. We haven't even made it to the surface and I'm talking like the ending is already fixed. If I want something to happen, I just have to work for it." 

"Damn right," Bell agreed. "But first, we have to get out of the underground."

Laurel nodded. "Together."

"Together," Bell nodded back, holding out their hand.

The two clasped hands and locked eyes, grinning with determination.

* * *

It took a couple more hours, but eventually everyone woke up. Robin had fallen back asleep near the cave's exit, and the others waited for them to wake up. After a few moments of being intently stared at by six pairs of eyes, Robin's eyelashes fluttered against their cheeks and they slowly woke up. 

"GOOOOOOOOD MOOORRRRNNNIINNNNNGGG!!!!!!" Hop exclaimed as soon as Robin's eyes were half-opened, jumping onto Robin as they started to sit up.

"Good morning, Hop!" Robin repeated as their younger sibling squeezed their neck in a strangling hug. 

The other kids couldn't hold back after that, the rest of them toppling onto their eldest sibling in a tackling group hug. All of them except Alex, who hung back looking ashamed. Robin looked up at their younger sibling, but Alex wouldn't meet their eyes. Standing up, Robin turned and faced Alex.

"So, uhh..." Alex blushed, biting the inside of their cheek. "I-I'm glad you're still...I mean I know it wasn't your _choice_ , but I'm glad that you're not...Wh-what I mean to say is that...God, this is hard..."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Robin said. 

"You're sorry?" Alex finally met their sibling's gaze.

"Yes," Robin nodded. "It wasn't fair of me to just up and storm off like that and leave you all worried."

"No, no, no!" Alex waved their hands, stepping closer to Robin. " _I'm_ sorry! What I said was wrong, okay? I should have been more understanding of you. Alright, we all knew you didn't want to come and we haven't exactly been making this journey easy on your nerves. And I should know better than anyone how important it is for you to know that you're going to see Toriel again. Okay, and you will. But you don't have to apologize, alright? You didn't do anything wrong."

Robin blinked, taken a little aback by the apology.

"And..." Alex bit their lip, looking afraid of what they were going to say next. "And if you still want to turn around and go home...None of us will stop you."

A few of the kids gasped and they all clung a little tighter to Robin as their oldest siblings took in what had just been said. 

"Pathetic," Robin said.

"Huh!?" Alex furrowed their eyebrows.

"You think you can get rid of me that easily?" Robin grinned. "As if I would leave you in charge."

Alex gave a single laugh. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Robin smirked, putting their arms around the children huddled around them. "I'll stay. But only if you guys think there's a real chance of us breaking the barrier."

"Of course there is!" Laurel piped up. "There always has been, so long as all seven of us go together."

"We just have to keep moving forward," Twain said. 

"Together," Bell said, winking at Laurel. 

"Hah, alright well, if you feel that strongly about it..." Robin laughed. "Let's keep going."

* * *

"OH GOD I GIVE UP!!!" Hop declared, slamming their forehead against the puzzle control panel. The group had kept going and come to another set of puzzles to solve in order to go any further. Hop had insisted on trying to first one themself, but quickly found it too frustrating and gotten angry at the difficulty they were having. 

"Do you want me to try?" Laurel asked. 

"Sure," Hop said, giving up the controls to their older sibling. "No one said there'd be puzzles in the underground."

"Hop, the Ruins is nothing but puzzles?" Alex reminded them.

"I thought they'd only be in the Ruins since puzzles _ruin_  everything," Hop sniffed. 

Alex laughed. "Save that one for Mom when you see her again."

"Aaaaaaand done!" Laurel announced, turning back around. "I wonder how the others are doing with their puzzle." 

* * *

"...Also, this sounds weird but she has the power! To control the minds of anyone she kisses! She kisses people and controls them to fix her problems!!"

Twain gave Bell and Frisk a pained expression as Alphys continued to jabber on about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. She had called Twain just as Robin, Bell, Frisk, and them had been about to enter the puzzle room. Robin had gone ahead to try and solve the puzzle while Twain talked, and Frisk and Bell were beginning to wish they had gone with them too.

"Should've just said you didn't want to watch the anime," Bell said, leaning against the wall.

"I didn't want to be rude!" Twain whispered, covering the receiver so Alphys wouldn't here. 

"OKAY WELL I almost spoiled the whole show, but...Uhhh, I think you'd really like it!!!" Alphys' voice carried out. "We should watch it! After you get through all this!"

Bell scratched behind their ear and looked disdainfully down at the phone as the call ended. "Yeah, that's real high on our list of priorities after we break the barrier."

"Aw, the show sounds cute!" Twain said.

"I can't believe a member of my own family would want to watch that entry-level anime garbage," Bell shook their head. "I mean, literally, anime garbage! She found those DVDs at the dump!!"

"Hey, did you guys solve your puzzle!?" Laurel called out, approaching their other siblings. Alex and Hop trailed behind, Alex looking a little extra crispy from the laser maze on the conveyor belts. 

"Robin's in there now," Bell jabbed a thumb over their shoulder. "We've been out here listening to the Anime Hour with Dr. Alphys."

"Sounds right up your alley, Bell," Alex teased.

"Blegh!" Bell stuck their tongue out. "You couldn't pay me to watch that Mew Mew crap! Well, I mean, you could probably pay me. But I still wouldn't enjoy it!!!"

Laurel laughed. "I'm gonna go see if Robin needs any help with that puzzle."

* * *

After Laurel went in to the puzzle room, both them and Robin were out in no time. Gathering onto the other conveyor belt, the seven humans went back to the steam vent room. Shooting to the far right of the room, the group walked up to the huge doors which came unlocked as they approached. Walking up a little further, the kids came to purple wall with a dark little doorway. 

"Well, that doesn't look suspicious at all," Bell scoffed. 

Laurel looked up around the doorway. "Cobwebs."

"You got something?" Alex asked.

"I think I know who's gonna be waiting on the other side of this doorway," Laurel said, thinking back to the bake sale table they'd passed earlier. "Let me go first."

So the other six followed behind Laurel as they forged ahead into the darkness.

The other room was stuffy and narrow and too dark to see more than a foot in front of you. The humans groaned and gagged as they walked forward and got their feet stuck in cobwebs spattered on the floor. Laurel kept moving, unbothered, looking up and around. 

"Ahuhuhuhuhu...." a sickeningly sweet laugh sounded out from the ether. "Did you hear what they just said?"

"What was that?" Twain asked, looking around for a noise source. 

"Shh, just keep walking," Laurel murmured.

"They said a human wearing a striped shirt and glasses will come through."

The others locked eyes on Laurel; who went a touch rigid in the spine at the description, but otherwise kept walking. 

"I heard that they hate spiders."

"No, that's me," Hop muttered, stepping carefully over a cobweb. 

"I heard that they love to stomp on them."

Laurel trudged forward, their legs wrapped in webs up to their knees. 

"I heard that they like to tear their legs off."

"Uh, Laurel?" Bell called out. "I have a bad feel about this." 

"It'll be fine!" Laurel waved off the concern. "The spiders in the Ruins love me! I'm sure these ones have heard-"

"I heard..." that sickening sweet voice spoke up again, right next to Laurel's ear. The other humans gasped, backing away as a swarm of spiders crawled out on both sides. Laurel turned to face the voice that was speaking to them and found themselves staring at the spider monster girl from the bake sale earlier. 

"...that they're awfully stingy with their money!" she finished, grinning devilishly at Laurel. "Ahuhuhuhu...You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, dearie?"

"What!?" Laurel exclaimed. "N-No I don't!"

"Ahuhuhhu..." Muffet continued, not listening. "I disagree with that notion. I think your taste...Is exactly what this next batch needs!" 

Laurel heard their siblings call out for them and then the battledome went up, and it was just them and Muffet and her spiders. Muffet stood before them, smiling and holding two teapots and two teacups in for of her eight hands. 

"Don't look so blue, my dearie~" Muffet said, tipping her teapots down so a purple liquid sloshed out and soaked Laurel all over. "...I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhuhu~" 

Laurel tried to move about the battleground but found their movements restricted; the purple liquid had formed a sort of rigid web where Laurel could jump up and down at limited intervals and move from side to side along the lines of the web. As they struggled to get free, Muffet covered her mouth and giggled at them.

"Why so pale? You should be proud~" Muffet said as her attack began.

Spiders crawled out and along the lines of the web. Laurel jumped from top to bottom to avoid the spiders as they crawled closer to them. For the most part, they were able to get the general pattern the spiders were running at; but still couldn't avoid getting hit by a few. When they did run into the spiders, the little arachnids would bite through the fabric of their clothing and pierce into the skin beneath. Each hit took 6HP and, by the end of the first attack, Laurel was down by half. Reaching into their pocket, Laurel chugged the Sea Tea they'd bought earlier before the next turn.

"Proud that you're going to make a delicious cake~ Ahuhuhu~" Muffet continued. 

More spiders crawled out towards Laurel. This time, they concentrated on the pattern the spiders moved in and managed to come out damage free. But Muffet was hardly finished. 

After a couple more turns, Laurel considered trying to pay off the spider monster just to be left alone. However, they figured someone like Muffet would probably use that as a scam to get money out of them before they died and thought better of it. So, they struggled through the spider attacks and occasional projectile donuts as best they could.

"Oh, how rude of me!" Muffet exclaimed. "I almost forgot to introduce you to my pet~"

"Pet...?" Laurel looked around them for signs of a pet.

Muffet giggled. "It's breakfast time, isn't it? Have fun, you two~"

The attack started normally enough as just a matter of weaving through a pattern of crawling spiders, and Laurel actually found it much easier than a few of the previous attacks. But when they got to the end of the string of spiders, something else was waiting for them. Muffet's pet turned out to be a gargantuan cupcake with jagged teeth and spindly legs. Laurel's eyes widened as the pet roared and began to chase after them. 

Turning around, Laurel jumped up the web and found that they could keep going upwards moreso than in normal attacks. As they climbed higher though, spiders began to crawl down towards them and Laurel had to dodge to avoid both them and Muffet's pet. Unlike the other attacks, there was no sense of pattern to the spiders' movements and Laurel felt lucky that they managed to scrape out with what little HP they had left. 

"The person who warned us about you..." Muffet said, piquing Laurel's interest at the mention of whoever had sent this greedy monster after them. 

Before Muffet continued, she sent out another attack. Laurel held their breath as they dodged spiders and donuts and came out breathing heavily and hanging onto the purple web for support. Eating a Crab Apple, they felt some of their strength return.

"Offered us a LOT of money for your soul," Muffet continued. 

Just spider attacks this time, Laurel breathed a sigh of relief and made it through the attack only getting bitten a couple of times.

"They had such a sweet smile~ and... Ahuhuhu~" Muffet giggled, looking coyly to the side.

Donuts flew at them from both sides. Laurel stayed still and let the weaponized pastries fly out around them. Then, the spiders came zooming out and Laurel jumped up and down to avoid them. All in all, it was a pretty easy turn; finishing off with a rogue croissant spinning into the middle of the web and then spinning out.

"It's strange, but I swore I saw them in the shadows... Changing shape...?" Muffet said.

Something new that turn. Croissants boomeranged out along the web in sequence. Laurel found them surprisingly easy to dodge, since they stopped and spun a few moments before shooting back out. They came out of that turn damage-free, but the victory was short-lived when they spied the sign advertising the next attack.

"Oh, it's lunch time, isn't it?" Muffet asked. "And I forgot to feed my pet~"

Laurel steeled themself for to face Muffet's pet again as a new pattern of spiders flung out at them. Muffet's pet showed up again and Laurel had to run to avoid getting bitten again, climbing up the web as quickly as they could without running into the spiders descending from above. But they hesitated for too long at some point, and Muffet's pet's jaws gnashed on Laurel's right leg. Letting out a scream of agony, Laurel finished the turn with less than half of their HP. 

Gingerly, they touched their injured leg. It was bloody and oozing some sort of venom from the pet's teeth. Taking a shaky breath, Laurel took out the only other health item they had left: a slice of Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie from Home. They had been trying to save it for when they would potentially have to battle Asgore, but they didn't have a choice right now. Eating the slice of pie, Laurel felt their HP fill back up and all of their injuries heal. The taste reminded them of being at Home with Toriel, of being safe with their family. Those memories reminded Laurel why they were fighting, why they were risking their life: they wanted to get that feeling of being safe back, but they wanted it on the surface. Straightening up, Laurel prepared for the next move. 

"With that money, the spider clans can finally be reunited~" Muffet spoke.

More spiders. Laurel wove out of the attack without a bite on them.

"You haven't heard? Spiders have been trapped in the Ruins for generations!" Muffet was saying now.

Laurel had heard, they knew very well about the spiders trapped in the Ruins; but they also knew that Muffet wouldn't listen to them if she had made up her mind to be distrustful of them. So, Laurel focused on the donuts being flung at them. The cobwebby baked goods hurled into Laurel from every direction, beating their HP down to a fraction. 

"Even if they go under the door, Snowdin's fatal cold is impassable alone," Muffet said as she did a synchronized dance with the other spiders. 

Laurel wanted to scream at the top of their lungs that they knew already, but knew they had to focus on getting out of this battle alive. Even the croissants being flung were hard to dodge for Laurel, who was dizzy from being pelted with pastries. They got clipped in the shoulders by one of the croissants and felt their HP stagger down to one. Holding onto the lowest rung of the web, Laurel pressed their forehead to the sticky purple spider silk and struggled to not just give up right then and there. 

 _Your family's happiness. Your happiness. The monsters' happiness. Everyone's freedom._ Laurel chanted in their head, reminding themself of why they were even making this journey. Taking a deep breath, they locked eyes with Muffet and spared her.

"But with the money from your SOUL, we'll be able to rent them a heated limo~" Muffet said.

They stopped listening. The only things they were paying attention to now were the warning signs for the next attack and the patterns in which those attacks proceeded. As Muffet's next attack began though, Laurel began to lose hope that they would survive. Just when they were sure their number was up, they felt a tug in their chest pull them up over a rapidly approaching spider.

"Huh!?" Laurel exclaimed as they shot up and over the spiders in perfect sequence without ever having initiated a movement. The turn ended and Laurel stared in amazement at nothing in particular. Then, they actually laughed in relief.

The next turn followed in a similar fashion. Laurel didn't even have to think about the pattern, they found their body would move on its own before any attack could land on them. Normally, something like this would make them highly suspicious; but since it was life or death, they decided to let the inquisitions wait until after this battle.

"But enough of that..." Muffet finished talking about how the spiders could spend their blood money and fixed Laurel with a triumphant smirk. "It's time for dinner, isn't it? Ahuhuhu~"

Laurel felt their heart skip a beat, not knowing if this autopilot ability would work in the patternless spider hell that was coming up next. For the first part of the attack, it did work and Laurel was able to go through the alternating spider movements without getting hit. But when the time came to climb the web and run from Muffet's pet, they felt the autopilot disengage.

Jolting into action, Laurel began climbing the web. They didn't even think about how long they would have to do run from Muffet's pet; at that moment, their fear of dying overtook their irritation at the inconvenience of the battle and they climbed as if that was the only thing they had to do for the rest of their life. They lost all sense of time and took on a one-track train of though: Don't die. They went higher and higher, sweat pouring down their face and the bites and bruises on their body aching. They were about to reach for the next rung, their fingers closing in on the purple string, when....

"You're still alive? Ahuhuhu~" Muffet laughed, ending the turn. "Oh, my pet~ Looks like it's time for dessert~"

Laurel began to panic, considering shelling all of their money out if it meant a chance of Muffet letting them go, when a spider holding a note crawled up to Muffet. 

"Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins?" Muffet raised one of her five eyebrows. "What? They're saying that they saw you, and…"

Laurel's heart completely stopped as they waited to hear the rest of the message.

"... you're a total spider fanatic!" Muffet read, her voice suddenly delighted. "Oh my, this has all been a big misunderstanding~ I thought you were someone that hated spiders~"

Laurel let out an enormous breath of relief, a smile splitting across their face.

"The person who asked for that soul..." Muffet tutted her chin. "They must have meant a DIFFERENT human in a striped shirt~ Sorry for all the trouble~ Ahuhuhu~ I'll make it up to you~ You can come back here any time... And, for no charge at all...I'll wrap you up and let you play with my pet again!"

Laurel bit their lip to refrain from asking Muffet if she was serious in the incredulous tone they wanted to use that they were positive would result in a very serious response.

"Ahuhuhuhuhuhu~ Just kidding~" Muffet laughed. "I'll spare you now~"

Muffet spared Laurel and they made no hesitation of sparing Muffet right back and ending the battle. They dropped out of the purple web and was met by the sounds of their siblings calling their name in amazement and relief. 

"Ahuhuhuhu...That was fun!" Muffet giggled. "See you again, dearie!"

Muffet vanished back into the ether and Laurel collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Laurel!" they heard Robin's voice call out, and all of a sudden they were being cradled in the familiar comfort of their oldest sibling's arms while their other siblings gathered around in concern. 

"I guess this sweater has seen better days, huh?" Laurel laughed weakly, holding up a sleeve that was now riddled with spider bite holes. 

Their siblings all laughed, relief flooding into their voices. Robin was shoving a health item into Laurel's hands, making them eat it. As they swallowed, Laurel felt their remaining injuries heal up and strength return to their tired bones. Clambering to their feet, Laurel straightened out their rumpled clothing and readjusted their glasses.

"That was so weird," Laurel whistled, gazing out to the darkness where Muffet had disappeared to. "I was dying. But then...I started moving but, it wasn't me making the movements. It was like I was on autopilot."

"Autopilot?" Twain repeated, remembering their battle with Undyne and how their arm had just know where to move when they had low HP.

"Yeah, autopilot," Laurel nodded. "Like...I knew where to move but I also didn't?? It was really weird."

"That is weird," Robin murmured, pressing their hand to their face.

"Anyways," Laurel sighed, taking out their notebook and writing something down. "We aren't going to figure it out just sitting here. Let's get going."

"Yes, right," Robin agreed, turning around and taking the lead. Their other siblings smiled, happy to see Robin resuming their position at the head of the group. They all rose to their feet and followed them out of the spider room.

As they exited the room and moved to the next, the scenery changed. Instead of Hotland's weltering red dust, the room was a familiar purple brick and the back wall was painted to look like a night sky cityscape. There was a poster on the wall, which Robin didn't take the time to read; they continued forwards, looking from side to side in the eerily quiet space.

"A tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers, kept apart by the tides of fate...?" Laurel read off the poster, the rest of the group gathered around them.

"Looks like it's almost time for the performance," Alex said. "Wait...Does that mean...?"

"Robin, stop!" Bell called out.

Robin turned around. "Hm?"

"OH? THAT HUMAN..." a too-familiar robotic voice sighed dramatically.

"Dammit," Robin slammed their hand into their face. Looking up to where the voice was coming from, Mettaton peeked out from around the corner of a balcony. He was wearing a beautiful glittering blue ballgown, and even the humans thought he looked pretty fabulous.

"COULD IT BE...?" Mettaton continued. 

Alex tried to step forward and help, but there was an electronic fence holding out all of the other children.

"...MY ONE TRUE LOVE?" Mettaton said, his voice saturated with dramatic airy romance.

Moving over to the staircase, Mettaton daintily held up his skirts and came down the stairs. His one wheel bumped loudly against the ridges of the stairs as he descended, but he maintained the mood of his scene. Wheeling over to where Robin was, Mettaton raised his arms as if he were about to sing.

Robin winced, holding their hands up to Mettaton. "Please, don't."

" _Oh my love!_ " Mettaton burst out in song, loud enough for the entire underground to hear. " _Please run away...Monster King...Forbids your stay..._ "

"Jeez, who wrote this?" Alex grimaced as Mettaton danced around the stage.

" _Humans must...Live far apart...Even if...It breaks my heart..._ " Mettaton belted out.

"Poor Robin," Twain muttered, clasping their hands behind their neck. Robin stood dumbfounded as the robot serenaded them, not knowing what to do.

" _They'll put you...In the dungeon...It'll suck...And then you'll die a lot..._ "

Bell raised an eyebrow as fake cherry blossom petals began to fall from the ceiling. 

" _Really sad...You're gonna die...Cry cry cry....So sad it's happening..._ "

Mettaton stopped singing and put an arm around Robin's shoulder. They tried to shrug him off, but Mettaton's mechanical strength was too great to break free from.

"SO SAD," Mettaton spoke, taking one of Robin's hands in his. "SO SAD THAT YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON." 

Then, Mettaton moved away from Robin and took out a remote control with one big red button on it.

"WELL, TOODLES!" Mettaton called, pressing the red button on the remote. 

"Wh-" Robin broke off with a scream as the floor fell out beneath them. They heard the sound of their siblings screaming their name and then they were falling in pitch black darkness. The ground rushed up to meet them, and Robin felt their body crush into the red dirt of Hotland. Groaning, they struggled to their feet and looked up to see Mettaton flying down before them.

"OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?" Mettaton cried out. "MY LOVE HAS BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON! A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURELY PERISH!"

Robin looked to their right where Mettaton was gesturing and let out a gasp. It was the tile color maze from Snowdin Forest. Except this one was actually set up as a maze of colors and about ten times longer than the one Papyrus had set up. 

 _Didn't Papyrus say the puzzle was designed by Alphys...?_ Robin thought as they looked between Mettaton and the puzzle. 

"O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY!" Mettaton said. "THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE! EACH COLORED TILE HAS ITS OWN SADISTIC FUNCTION. FOR EXAMPLE, A GREN TILE SOUNDS A NOISE, AND THEN YOU MUST FIGHT A MONSTER. RED TILES WILL...ACTUALLY, WAIT A SECOND. DIDN'T WE SEE THIS PUZZLE ABOUT A HUNDRED ROOMS AGO? THAT'S RIGHT. YOU REMEMBER ALL THE RULES, DON'T YOU?"

"U-Uh, actually..." Robin began to say. 

"GREAT..." Mettaton cut them off. "THEN I WON'T WASTE YOUR TIME REPEATING THEM! OH, AND YOU'D BETTER HURRY. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN 30 SECONDS..." A column of flames sparked up to the right. "YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!"

"What!?" Robin exclaimed.

"AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA! AHAHA...HA...HA!" Mettaton cackled. "MY POOR LOVE! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!" 

The timer started and Robin stepped onto the conveyor belt and almost stepped right back off when they realized how slow it was going. And it didn't help that Mettaton had resumed his caterwauling as soon as the timer had started and was now serenading Robin as they fumbled through the puzzle.

" _Oh my love...Has fallen down...Now in tears...We all will drown..._ " 

Robin slipped on one of the purple tiles and fell into a blue tile. Climbing out onto a green tile, they grumbled and gave a spiteful glare to Mettaton.

" _Colored tiles...Make them a fool...If only they...Still knew the rules..._ " 

Standing on a pink tile, Robin puzzled over how to solve the puzzle in time. Looking up at the clock, they saw that they only had ten seconds left.

" _Well that was...A sorry try...Now let's watch...Them fry..._ "

The clock stopped and the puzzle deactivated to greyscale blocks. Robin looked up to Mettaton, their chest heaving as they tried to catch their breath.

"OOOOH, I'M SO SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!" Mettaton announced. Jets of flames closed in on either side of Robin. "HERE COME THE FLAMES, DARLING!" 

"Urgh! How are you this annoying!?" Robin groaned.

"IT'S CALLED NATURAL TALENT, SWEETHEART!" Mettaton said as the flames grew closer. "THEY'RE CLOSING IN!" 

Robin looked around them, remembering everything Laurel and Bell had been saying since they first met Mettaton and Alphys. Taking a deep breath, they decided to take a chance.

"Why not just get it over with, huh!?" they called up to Mettaton. 

"YOU REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND SHOW-BIZ, DO YOU, GORGEOUS? I'M PAUSING FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT!" Mettaton said. The flames were less than a foot away from Robin's sides now. "GETTING! CLOSER! OH MY!" 

"Bring it on!" Robin shouted. "I'm not scared of you, you glorified calculator!"

"SO LONG AS I'M GLORIFIED, DARLING!" Mettaton called. "ANY MINUTE NOW!!!"

The flames were inches from incinerating Robin, but still nothing happened.

"That uh...doesn't look very activated," Robin smirked, remembering back to Papyrus' gauntlet of deadly terror.

"IT'LL BE WORTH THE WAIT, DON'T YOU WORRY!" Mettaton said. He floated in awkward silence for a moment longer before giving a robotic cough.

Finally, Robin's phone rang.

"Yeah?" Robin picked up, looking and sounding unimpressed.

"Watch out!!" Alphys shouted. "I'll save you!!! I'm hacking into the firewall right now!!"

"OH NO!! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN???" Mettaton bemoaned as the flames went out. "FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!!" 

Robin raised an eyebrow as the silence pursued, no longer buying the show.

Mettaton floated silently for an extended amount of time and Alphys offered no further comment.

"THA-"

"That's right!" Alphys jumped in, continuing as if Robin hadn't heard Mettaton begin to speak. "Come on, Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to stop us...Not as long as we work together! Your puzzle's over...Now go home and leave us alone!"

"PUZZLE? OVER?" Mettaton said. "ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT...? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO? THEY MAKE A SOUND, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER. WELL, DARLING...THAT MONSTER...IS ME!" 

Mettaton came forward and was about to pull Robin into battle when...

"Hey, you big stupid robot!!" Hop shouted, running into view. The other kids were behind them, having come down the staircase at the far end of the room. "Fight me instead!!"

"OHO? WHAT'S THIS?? YOUR UNDERSTUDY?" Mettaton said to Robin; then, turned to talk to Hop. "WELL, GORGEOUS, IF YOU INSIST! COME ON DOWN!" 

"YEEEEE-HAW!!!" Hop cheered as they got tugged into the battle. No shadowy walls went up; so, the others could all still see what was happening between Mettaton and Hop.

"THIS IS IT, DARLING!" Mettaton cheered. "SAY GOODBYE!" 

"Aw, don't sell yourself short!" Hop teased. "I think you stand a pretty good chance, Mettaton!" 

"Hey," Bell said, bumping Robin with their elbow. "Shouldn't you be a little more worried?"

"Not after that last puzzle," Robin shook their head and looked down at Bell and Laurel. "You two were right to suspect Alphys. It's only a matter of time before she-"

"IS THAT YOUR PHONE?" Mettaton asked as Hop's phone started ringing. "YOU'D BETTER ANSWER IT!!" 

"Hellooooooo?" Hop picked up the call.

"H-hey!" Alphys spoke. "Th-this seems bad, but don't worry!! Th-there's one last thing I installed on your phone...! You see that yellow button? Go to this phone's ACT menu and press it!!!" 

Hop eagerly went to the ACT menu on their phone screen. Finding the yellow button, they pressed on it and waited for it to activate. The phone began to resonate with Mettaton's presence.

"THIS IS IT, DARLING! SAY GOODBYE!" Mettaton repeated and began his turn.

As Mettaton's turn began, Hop felt a twist in their gut and watched as their chest began to glow yellow.

"Whoooaaaa!" Hop grinned, looking up triumphantly at Mettaton.

"Now shoot!" Alphys instructed.

On instinct, Hop unholstered their gun and fired it directly at Mettaton. They were used to not having anything fire out of the barrel when they pulled the trigger; so, when a slew of yellow bullets shot out of their empty gun, Hop practically lost their mind in excitement. They fired a few more bullets at Mettaton, who shook dramatically with each impact. 

"OOH! OOOOH!" Mettaton said boredly as the turn ended. "YOU'VE DEFEATED ME!! HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT, ETC. WHATEVER." 

The humans all watched as Mettaton wheeled away and the battleground cleared. Hop turned back to their siblings and threw their hat in the air in victory.

"[BULLSEYE!!](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/post/156412431506/i-cant-stop-thinking-abt-how-much-i-love-my)" Hop cheered. The others smiled, most of them believing at this point that the entire battle had been fixed. To some degree, Hop knew that too; but it felt so good to shoot at Mettaton after everything he'd done, they didn't particularly care if he was actually defeated or not.

Hop puttered over to their family just as Robin's phone started ringing. Taking their phone out, Robin put the call on speaker and waited for Alphys to speak.

"L-looks like you beat him!" Alphys said. "Hop, y-you did a really great job out there!"

Hop looked to their siblings and smiled pityingly down at the phone in Robin's hands. "Thanks."

"Alphys..." Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. 

"Uh, y-yeah?" Alphys asked.

Robin took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. Exchanging looks with their siblings, they all seemed to agree it wasn't the time for a call out and decided to keep playing along for now. "N-Nothing. I was just going to say, uh, it's all thanks to you." 

"What?" Alphys murmured. "Oh no, I mean...You and your siblings are the ones who have been doing everything cool! I just wrote some silly programs for your phones!"

Robin gave a wry laugh, growing sadder and sadder the longer they stayed on the phone with Alphys.

"...umm, h-hey," Alphys stammered. "This might sound strange, but...c-can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Robin said, hoping this was a confession.

"B-before I met you guys, I d-didn't really...I didn't really like myself very much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw up. L-like I couldn't do a-anything without...W-without letting everyone down," Alphys admitted. The kids all looked sad at that, even Laurel. 

"B-but...!" Alphys picked up. "Guiding you guys has made me feel...A lot better about myself. So...thanks for letting me help you."

No one said anything for a moment, no one knew what to say. Everyone was upset with Alphys for lying to them, but that didn't mean they thought she deserved to feel so badly about herself.

"Uhh, anyways," Alphys changed the subject. "We're almost to the CORE. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!" 

Alphys hung up and the kids were left alone sitting in the middle of the unfinished puzzle.

Robin let out a heavy sigh. "Guys, what are we gonna do about Alphys? We can't just let her keep lying like this."

"I'm just wondering what her goal is with all of this," Bell wondered, kicking at one of the grayed out tiles.  

Laurel looked down at their phone, their fingers lingering on the little phone charm in the shape of a notebook Alphys had put on theirs. They'd thought that Alphys being a liar automatically made her an enemy, but now they weren't so sure. 

"It doesn't matter what her goal is," Alex sighed. "We'll find out eventually. So far, it hasn't done any harm. Let's...Let's just get to the CORE and put an end to all of this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to my readers!! You guys really motivate me to get long chapters like this done! We're almost to the CORE so things are going to get kind of heavy now. But, I've got some cool stuff planned for the last few battles that I hope you like as much as I do! Thanks again!!


	19. It's Raining Somewhere Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let me tell you a story...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but an important chapter. One of my favorite parts of the game.

The seven humans had climbed up the stairs at the far end of the puzzle dungeon. They'd come upon a little clearing where the Nice Cream Guy was standing with his cart to one side, and RG01 and RG02 were standing to the other side. The Nice Cream Guy was all out of nice cream, having sold it all to RG01 and RG02. When the kids spoke to the Royal Guards, RG01 they were taking a raincheck on the whole human killing thing and asked the kids not to tell Undyne. The kids assured the guards that they weren't going to tell Undyne and moved on with a little chuckle.

They walked up the stairs in the center of the room and came upon another clearing. This one had dark brick pavement and a hotel front with dainty music floating out through the glass doors. 

"MTT Resort," Robin remarked, looking at the gold sign over the doorframe with two golden Mettatons on either side of gold lettering spelling out 'MTT'. 

"Hey, Laurel," Bell nudged their best friend gently, a breath of laughter stirring into their voice. "Look who it is."

Laurel looked over to where Bell was gesturing and stifled a groan. "Oh man."

"SANS!!!" Hop cheered, running over to the little skeleton leaning against the hotel.

"Hi, sans!" Robin smiled, going over to see the skeleton as well. The rest of the group followed, everyone relieved to see a familiar face. Even Laurel breathed a sigh of relief to see someone they knew wasn't going to attack; no matter how much sans aggravated them, they were glad he was their friend. 

"hey," sans greeted, grinning widely up at the seven humans. "i heard you kids are heading to the core."

"That's the plan," Robin smiled nervously. 

"aw, you guys will be fine," sans said. "you're all pretty hard _core_."

Maybe it was the nerves. Or the homesickness. But the humans actually laughed a little bit at the pun, instead of groaning. 

"so hey," sans picked up again. "how about grabbing some dinner with me first?"

Robin looked to their siblings for consensus. They all gave a shrug and a nod, why not? The truth was that none of them were really ready for what was waiting in the CORE, and figured having dinner with sans was as good a way to stall as any.

"Yeah, we'd love to," Robin said, turning back to sans.

"great, thanks for treating me," sans joked in that not-joking way he did. He walked towards one of the alleyways by the hotel. "over here. i know a shortcut."

Following sans, the kids walked into the musty alley. For a split second, the world became a vat of blackness; and then, the seven humans were all standing around a table with sans. It was a little cramped around the square table shaped like Mettaton's body, but the kids were a bit more bothered by another round of room-hopping with sans and didn't pay much heed to the lack of room around the table. Gentle piano music was playing in the room, making the atmosphere feel comfortably gloomy. It was a lulling kind of relaxation that the kids hadn't felt since before they left Home. 

"well, here we are," sans said, shrugging at the dim purple restaurant. 

None of the humans spoke in return, it didn't feel right to speak just then.

"so," sans continued. "your journey's almost over, huh? you must really wanna go home."

Robin turned sad at that, looking down at their plate. Alex and Hop, who were on either side of them, each squeezed one of Robin's hands reassuringly. 

"hey," sans said, catching Bell's eye. "i know the feeling, buddo."

Bell raised an eyebrow. 

"though..." sans said, addressing everyone at the table. "maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you. down here you've already got food, drink, friends...is what you have to do...really worth it?"

The humans were confused at that, exchanging uncomprehending glances with each other. What did he mean by 'what they had to do'?

"ah, forget it," sans shrugged. "i'm rootin' for ya, kids."

Laurel smiled, suddenly feeling bad for the hard time they'd been giving sans. He wasn't so bad, really. 

A short silence pursued. Not an uncomfortable silence, but a pensive quiet wherein the humans thought back on their individual journeys from Home to this point. Thinking on what had transpired in just the past few days, the humans all felt a touch sad at how much their lives had changed just by stepping out of the Ruins. But then, they felt pride at all of the challenges they'd faced and overcome together and happiness as they thought about the new friends they'd made. At the very least, they were still alive. And that, in and of itself, was something all of them could be glad about.

"hey," sans spoke up, breaking the settled quiet. "let me tell you a story." 

The kids exchanged confused glances, wondering what sans was going to tell them. Apparently, it was serious enough for him to stop making puns for more than two sentences; so, they all leaned in intently.

"so i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right?" sans began. "i sit out there and watch for humans. it's kind of boring. fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. and it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes."

A beat of silence as the kids remembered the exact door. Their interest increased as they wondered where this story was going.

"so one day, i'm knocking 'em out, like usual. i knock on the door and say 'knock knock.'" sans continued. "and suddenly, from the other side...i hear a woman's voice. 'who is there?'"

Robin gasped at sans' perfect imitation of their Mother's voice, not having heard it in what felt like forever. The other kids smiled, and they all caught on to what sans was saying. They recalled how Toriel used to go downstairs for hours and come back up all giggly and telling bad jokes left and right.

"so, naturally," sans picked up. "I respond: 'dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke.' then she just howls with laughter. like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. so I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. she's the best audience i've ever had. 

"then, after a dozen of 'em, SHE knocks and says...'Knock knock!' i say 'who's there?' 'old lady' 'old lady who?' 'oh! I did not know you could yodel!'" sans chuckled, smiling fondly at the memory. "wow. needless to say, this woman was extremely good."

Smiles were spread on each of the children's faces, all of them remembering Toriel's sense of humor and how good it felt just to talk to her. They were happy that she had had a friend to bounce her jokes off of. 

"we kept telling each other jokes for hours," sans continued. "eventually, i had to leave. papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. but she told me to come by again, and so i did. then i did again. and again. it's a thing now. telling bad jokes through the door. it rules."

So many questions were beginning to sprout up in Laurel's head now that they knew sans had known Toriel before he'd know them; but they didn't want to ruin the story and decided to wait until the end before grilling sans. For the first time since they'd met, sans was actually explaining something; and Laurel felt their questions might soon be answered without having to be asked.

"one day, though, i noticed she wasn't laughing very much," sans said, and the smiles fell from the kids' faces to be replaced with concern. "i asked her what was up. then she told me something strange."

sans paused again, looking away for a moment. The humans were hanging on his every word, and resisted the urge to press for an answer. sans took a deep breath as he began to unload the memory.

"'if any humans ever come through this door...could you please, please promise something?'" sans said in Toriel's voice. "'watch over them, and protect them, will you not?'"

A few of the kids were tearing up, and Robin had covered their face with their hands to hide how much they were crying. Robin had always believed that, even though she wasn't answering their calls, Toriel could never stop caring about her children; now they had been proven right, and felt an immense relief as their faith in their Mother was validated. 

"now, i hate making promises," sans was saying as the children all felt themselves become overwhelmed at this revelation. "and this woman, i don't even know her name. but...someone who sincerely likes bad jokes...has an integrity you can't say 'no' to."

sans turned away, rubbing the back of his skull. Then, he turned back and looked each human square in the face. 

"do you get what i'm saying?" sans asked as he gazed at each of the seven humans. "that promise i made to her...you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?" sans let out a heavy huff of breath. "....guys."

sans turned away again, and the kids could see from the side that his eyelights had gone out. When he spoke again, the paint thinner voice he'd used when they'd first met was back. 

" **. . .Y o u' d  a l l  b e  d e a d  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d.** "

The kids shied away at that, sans had suddenly become scarier to them than just about any other monster they'd faced. But, when he turned back around, he was back to his usual self; and no one knew how to react to him anymore.

"hey, lighten up, buckaroos! i'm just joking with you," sans winked. "besides...haven't i done a great job protecting you guys? i mean, look at yourselves. you haven't died a single time."

Frisk lifted their eyebrows at sans, gauging how much he actually knew and how much he was just poking fun at. 

"hey, what's that look supposed to mean?" sans asked, catching Frisk's eye. "am i wrong...?" 

The other kids looked to Frisk then, who shrugged nervously and shook their head. 

"heh," sans gave a single laugh, walking away from the table. He began walking out of the restaurant, turning and looking back at the kids when he was a few feet away from them. "well, that's all. take care of yourselves, kids. 'cause someone really cares about you."

After that, sans was gone. The humans stood in silence, none of them knowing what to say. Looking to their oldest sibling, the others waited for Robin's lead as to what to do next. Robin was staring blankly down at their place setting, tears drying on their freckled cheeks. The longer the silence pursued, the farther away their glance became. Suddenly, the corner of their mouth quirked up and a soft laugh escaped their lips. Then, that one laugh grew into a whole burble of laughter; and then they were clutching their side, laughing and crying all at the same time. 

The other kids didn't know how to react at first; then, Alex started laughing as well. Soon, all of the kids were laughing and crying at the same time, relief palpable in their alleviated heartbeats. They were relieved because now they knew Toriel hadn't forgotten them, the simple fact of knowing she had made sure they would be looked after by someone she trusted counteracted every unanswered phone call they'd dialed in the past few days. Additionally, the six younger kids were happy to see Robin laughing and smiling so much again; and, for a moment, they all forgot where they were and why they were there. For a moment, they were home again. 

For a moment, they were free. 


	20. CORE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE CORE!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 20...Wow.

"I can't believe you brought that all the way from Snowdin!" Alex remarked as they watched Bell flatten and shove a Cinnamon Bunny under one of the hotel room doors. 

"Yeah, well, it's about to pay off," Bell said as they finished jamming the pastry under the door.

"HUH!?!?!?" the voice behind the door exclaimed. "That's just the way I want! Here's a tip. Thanks a million!"

Bell picked up the gold as it was slid under the door and grinned at Alex as they held it up for their inspection.

"Aw what!? 99G!?!?" Alex exclaimed. 

"Told you it was gonna pay off!" Bell beamed, turning and flouncing away down the hallway. 

Alex shoved off the wall where they'd been leaning and started to follow Bell. A couple of feet down the hall, Alex stopped at another door and knocked.

"Ooooooooah! Room Service!" another hidden voice called out. "Got my 'Sea Tea'?"

Alex patted their pockets, but knew they didn't have the item the monster behind the door wanted. "Uh, no..."

"Then...!?" the voice asked, irritated. 

Alex backed away from the door then, scuttling to catch up with Bell. Their younger sibling had crossed through the lobby to the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium where the rest of their family was. The other five humans were all leaning over the counter, expressions bearing varying degrees of interest as they spoke to the cat monster, whose nametag read Burgerpants, running the burger stand. Hop had an armful of glittering sandwiches labeled 'Glamburgers' that were selling for 120G each. 

"Hop," Alex said as they stepped into the shop. "Where'd you get the money to pay for those?"

"Laurel bought them for me with their birthday money," Hop grinned. 

"That money was supposed to be so you could buy something for yourself," Alex said. 

"Eh," Laurel waved their hand dismissively. "I already have a ton of health items, and Hop really liked those sparkly burgers. Besides, it's my money to spend how I like."

Alex looked to Robin. "What do you think of this?"

"It's Laurel's decision," Robin shrugged. "Anyways, Hop hardly had any health items. I certainly feel better going into the CORE if we all have at least some form of protection."

"Ooooooh!" Bell surged forwards, breaking through their siblings and plunking 60G down on the counter. "I'll have one of those Starfaits!"

"Here you go, little buddy," the cat monster said, taking a drag on his cigarette as he handed the Starfait to Bell. 

"Have you two met Burgerpants?" Laurel asked. "He was just telling us how horrible Mettaton is."

"Darn right!!" Burgerpants said, clenching his fists. "Why do people find him so attractive?? He's literally just a freaking rectangle..."

Hop laughed out loud at that.

"You know, one time," Burgerpants continued, turning a bit embarrassed. "I bought one of those, uh, kits online...to...Uh, make yourself more rectangular...They don't work."

"Yikes," Laurel raised their eyebrows, scrawling in their notebook. "So, uh, what about your future then?"

"Future? WHAT future? Nothing down here ever changes. I'll probably be trapped at this stupid job forever..." Burgerpants despaired. Then, he thought of something else. "But wait! There's one thing that keeps me going!"

"What's that?" Twain asked.

"If Asgore gets those seven human souls, we'll finally get to go to the surface!" Burgerpants said. "It'll be a brand new world! There's gotta be a second chance out there for me! For everyone! So stay strong, little buddies. When I make it big, I'll keep you in mind."

The humans shifted uncomfortably, they had once again been reminded that the extent to which most monsters stayed hopeful relied heavily on Asgore taking their souls. And no matter how friendly or nice people kept telling them Asgore was, none of them could forget how much Toriel had warned them of his intention to kill every human that fell down.

"Okay," Robin spoke up first, pushing away from the counter. "Everyone ready? Let's go to the CORE."

* * *

The kids went through the glass doors at the back of MTT Resort and found themselves on a narrow boardwalk, the entrance to the CORE waiting up ahead. As they walked along the planks and got closer to the entrance, the humans could just make out two shadowy figures standing in the mist. But as soon as they were spotted, the figures vanished. 

Twain's phone rang and they picked it up.

"Huh? Who are they?" Alphys' puzzled voice spoke out. "N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here..." 

"Hmm," Laurel hummed, actually buying what Alphys was saying for a change.

"Oh well!" Alphys piped up. "We can't worry about that now!" 

Alphys hung up, and the humans continued forwards. Passing through the glowing blue entrance to the CORE, the group came into a room that looked entirely made of blue circuitboards. The room beeped and hummed with activity, converting geothermal energy into magical electricity. 

"Ready? This is it!" Alphys' voice came out of Frisk's phone next. "Take the elevator up to the top of the CORE!" 

Frisk walked forwards and tried to press the elevator's buttons, but nothing happened. 

"What? The elevator should be working..." Alphys said. "W-well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!" 

Frisk gave the right doorway a long look; then, giving the others a shrug, headed to the left. Not wanting to split up, the other humans followed Frisk.

"H-hey," Alphys called Frisk again. "Why don't you try to go to the right first??"

Frisk didn't have time to give an answer, because a shadowy figure was headed straight for them. 

"W-watch out!" Alphys shouted as Frisk got pulled into battle. 

The battledome went up and Frisk looked to see who they were fighting. Some wizard monster named Madjick had popped out of his hat and was now floating before Frisk, waiting for their first move.

Instantly, Frisk held up their stick and gave it a wave and flourish.

"Ah! A fellow wizard!" Madjick remarked and began his attack.

Little magic crosses popped up around Frisk and a menacing orb chased and cornered them around the battle ground. Frisk suffered a bit of damage, but otherwise came out of the attack unscathed. Then, Madjick was able to be spared and Frisk did so, collecting the reward money of 60G.

"Th-That was close..." Alphys was saying as Frisk came out of the battle. "Wh...Why are there so many monsters here? I mean...It's no problem, r-r-r-right? W-w-w-we've just got to keep heading forward!" 

"Okay, I've _definitely_ got a bad feel about this," Bell said. 

"Do you want to turn back?" Robin asked. 

"No, I...I'm just scared, okay?" Bell faltered. "Forget it, let's keep going."

"Bell..." Robin murmured.

"I said forget it!" Bell snapped, walking past Frisk and heading into the next room. The others followed, coming to a bridge that led to the next part of the CORE; but the bridge was blockaded by an electric fence. 

Alex's phone rang next.

"Looks like you can't proceed until you hit the switch," Alphys said. "B-but, those lasers will activate when you do."

Alex lifted their gaze to the ceiling, where three unactivated lasers waited in dormancy.

"Ummm...Looks like they'll come in this order: Orange. Orange. Blue. Got it? Move until the third one!" 

"Welp, let's get this over with," Alex said, slamming the switch on the wall. 

"N-No, Alex, wa-" Robin broke off with a yelp as two blue lasers struck their moving body. The other kids didn't have time to register the change in expected color, and all got hit by the blue lasers; except Frisk, who had been standing still the whole time. Luckily, the group was still moving when the last laser went over them a burning orange. Frisk stepped through the orange laser and was the only human to come out without damage.

"What the heck!?" Alex groaned, clutching their side.

"Let's just get across this bridge," Robin said, smoothing down their hair which was standing on end from the electricity.

The group went single-file across the bridge, coming to the other side without another attack. Alex's phone rang.

"Oh my god..." Alphys gasped. "Are you guys hurt? I...I'm so sorry...I gave you the wrong order."

"Yeah, no kidding," Alex muttered. 

"Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Alphys said, trying to sound convincing not only to the humans but to herself as well. "L-Let's just keep heading to the right."

The kids headed to the next area and stopped at the two diverging paths before them, unsure of where to turn.

Bell's phone was the next to ring.

"A crossroads...Uhhhh..." Alphys stammered. "Tr...Try heading to the right!"

"Okay," Bell said, taking a step forwards.

"W-wait! No, I think you sh-should head up!" Alphys said. 

Bell blew a strand of hair out of their eyes in exasperation. "Alright," they said, hanging up their phone and heading up to the next area with their siblings behind them.

Bell stepped into the small space first and was greeted by more shadowy figures. The kids barely had time to backtrack before Bell was yanked forcibly into battle. 

Gathering their thoughts, Bell looked up to see a monster named Knight Knight blocking their way. Bell didn't know what to do at all. Looking down to their ACT menu, they saw a suggestion labeled 'Sing'. 

"Sing...?" Bell wrinkled their brow. "Sing what?" 

For some reason, as they puzzled over what to do next, Bell thought of sans. They thought about how he'd laugh at Knight Knight's name being a play on the phrase 'Night Night!" as if her entire existence revolved around putting people to sleep. Then, something clicked and Bell knew what they had to do. 

Taking a deep breath, Bell began to sing. But they didn't sing just any old lullaby; they started singing the song they'd learned when they'd performed with Shyren. As they finished the song, Bell smiled at Knight Knight's lowering eyelids.

"Adieu," Knight Knight said, smashing her Morningstar.

The attack began with Knight Knight summoning the moon into the middle of the battleground. Bell drew back, amazed to even be seeing the moon after so many years underground. The marveling was cut short though, when deadly raindrops began to fall. 

Bell back away as far as they could, and then danced and twirled through the rain as best they could. Unsurprisingly for their siblings, Bell managed to dance between the attacks flawlessly; coming out of the attack without a scratch.

Smiling, Bell began to sing again. By the time they finished Shyren's song again and Knight Knight went to attack, the might monster was fast asleep. When she started snoring, Bell spared her and collected their 70G of prize money. Whipping around, Bell gave their siblings a triumphant thumbs-up as their phone rang again.

"Sorry," Alphys said as soon as Bell picked up. "I...I...I thought that...Let's try the right path instead."

Rolling their eyes, the kids left the room and headed to the right. Stepping into the next area, the group of humans paused as they came to another bridge blocked by swarms of lasers.

"M...more lasers..." Alphys said, calling Robin this time. "Okay, I...I won't mess around this time. I'll just deactivate the lasers and let you through."

Silence followed. Nothing happened. The lasers stayed on.

"They're...They're not turning off..." Alphys said, voice growing more and more distressed. "...I can't turn them off, I...I-i-it's okay! I have this under control!" 

"Alphys..." Robin rubbed the back of their neck. "You don't have to..."

"I'm going to turn off the power for that whole node. Then you can walk across," Alphys said hurriedly. The power in the room cut out, leaving the seven humans in darkness. "Okay, go!"

Not having any better ideas, the kids made their way across the bridge. They could vaguely see in front of them, but not really in the darkness. As they made it about halfway across, there came a clicking noise from overhead and Robin's phone rang again. 

"W-WAIT! STOP!" Alphys shouted as soon as Robin picked up. The lasers clicked back on and the kids were stuck in a field of blue lasers. "Th-the power...It's turning itself back on. D-damn it...Th-this isn't supposed to...I'm gonna turn it off again! When it turns off, move a little, and then STOP! OK?"

"I...I guess..." Robin said, trying to stay as still as possible. 

"Y-you won't get h-h-hurt," Alphys promised, hanging up. 

The lasers went off again and the others all followed behind Robin as they stepped tentatively forward. 

"STOP!" Robin shouted as soon as they heard the lasers begin to click on again. 

Robin turned out to be a very good guide, and managed to get the entire group through the flashing lasers in one piece. They took a deep breath and picked up their ringing phone.

"S-see? I've got everything under control!" Alphys said. "Everything's under control!" 

"She doesn't even sound like she believes that," Bell muttered as Robin hung up the phone. 

"Nevermind," Robin took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Walking further up into the CORE, the seven humans came to what they assumed was the main part of it. 

"Guess we're in the core of the CORE now, hah," Bell joked. 

Laurel rolled their eyes. "Bell, I swear to-" they stopped talking when their phone started ringing. Digging their phone out of their pocket, Laurel picked up. "Yeah, Alphys?"

"OK!" Alphys said, voice edged with nerves. "Y-you should...You should..."

"...Yeah!?" Laurel prompted, growing agitated with the royal scientist again. 

"I don't know?" Alphys whimpered. "This doesn't look like my map at all..."

"What do you mean!?" Laurel bit out, their voice getting higher the angrier they got.

"I'm sorry...I...I..." Alphys stammered. "I have to go." 

"No, wait! You can't just-AARRGGGHHH!!" Laurel roared when Alphys hung up. "Can you believe this!? Sh-she lies to us this entire time and now she's not even going to help us get through this place? If I ever see her again, I'm-"

"Laurel!" Robin snapped. "This isn't helping us either. I agree, this whole situation sucks. But right now, we need to not let our emotions get the better of us and work together to get out of this crazy place."

Laurel took a deep breath. "Okay, fine."

"Alright, now, where do you guys think we should go first?" 

"Well, let's see," Laurel straightened their glasses and read one of the electronic signs on the wall. "North, the warrior's path. West, the sage's path. Any path leads to The End." 

"So, it doesn't matter where we go?" Alex raised an eyebrow. 

"Let's go West," Robin suggested and began leading the group to the left. 

"Why not North?" Alex challenged. 

"You just said it doesn't matter!" Robin exclaimed. 

"I know. Just, why not North?" Alex repeated.

"Oh my God, we are not having this argument!" Robin held up their hands and started going left. 

"Kinda think we are!"

"We are not!"

"Yeah, we are! We're literally fighting right now!"

"You always do this! I'm not going to waste any time fighting with you when-"

"But you are wasting time fighting with me by arguing about how you're not going to-"

"Cut that out! We are not fighting!" 

Frisk blinked up at Robin and Alex as they dissolved into another of their famous pointless arguments. Sneaking a glance to the others to see if they were paying attention to them, Frisk slipped away to the left.

Frisk thought they had gone unnoticed, but they were wrong. As they were leaving, Hop had caught sight of of Frisk out of the corner of their eye. Trying and failing to get their older siblings' attention, Hop stamped their foot and stormed after Frisk themself. Then, when Hop stormed off, Twain caught sight of them and went to follow them as well; leaving only the four oldest siblings at the common area of the CORE. 

"-and when I say we aren't fighting, I mean we aren't fighting!" Robin argued.

"Well, if we aren't fighting, how come we aren't getting along!?" Alex countered.

"Because you keep arguing with me!" Robin shouted.

"Hah! See, you admit it!"

"Oh, would you two just shut up!?" Bell screamed over Robin and Alex. "We have to get through the CORE and we're not going to do that if we stand here listening to you two fighting all day! I mean, really, who gives a damn which direction we go?" 

"Uhh...guys..." Laurel spoke up, looking behind them. "We've got a big problem."

"What could possibly go wrong now?" Alex asked. 

"Where are the other kids!?" Robin shrieked, realizing what was wrong before Laurel could drop the bomb.

"They must have left while we were fighting," Alex concluded. 

"Well, what are we gonna do!?" Bell demanded. 

"We...We're going to..." Alex spluttered.

"We're going to look for them, of course!" Robin butted in. "Bell, you come with me; we'll go North. Laurel, you go with Alex; you two go West. The CORE interferes with our phone signals; so, don't lose your partner! We meet back here in approximately twenty minutes. Got it?" 

"Got it!" the others said in unison. Then, they were off to their separate directions of the CORE.

* * *

Frisk had managed to make their way to the uppermost room of the CORE. There was a bridge to cross with a switch at the end of it, that they figured needed to be turned off for some reason. As soon as they took a step onto the bridge, though, two monsters had jumped out at them and attacked.

The monsters looked vaguely familiar, like monsters from the Ruins but with dramatic makeovers. Frisk read their names: Final Froggit and Whimsalot. Unlike their Ruins counterparts, these monsters didn't seem timid or unwilling to fight. Since they had never gotten very far in a battle against a Whimsum, Frisk figured they would go with battling the Final Froggit first since they at least something of battling this kind of monster. To mystify Final Froggit, Frisk took the gross bandage off of their cheek and then slapped it right back on the other side. While slightly disgusted, Final Froggit seemed to realize it had more to learn from the world. 

The attack began and Frisk tried their best to dodge the swarming butterflies and zooming flies coming from both Whimsalot and Final Froggit. Although the attacks were familiar, these non-boss moves were less predictably patterned and Frisk couldn't help but get struck a few times. When the turn was over, however, Final Froggit was reluctant to fight them. Frisk was about to spare Final Froggit, when they heard their name being called. They turned and saw Robin and Bell had entered the upper room.

"Frisk!" Robin ran forward without a second thought, and burst right into the middle of the battle. "What the-What's going on?"

Frisk spared Final Froggit, a little annoyed at being interrupted. They turned to fight Whimsalot, but still didn't know what to do. In the Ruins, Whimsum had never stuck around for this long; and Frisk wasn't sure if the tricks they used for Whimsum would work on Whimsalot.

Looking down at the two humans, Whimsalot shook its head dismissively. 

Frisk blanched, not knowing what to do. Just when they were about to hit spare out of reflex, Robin dove to their knees in the middle of the battleground.

"Rob, what are you doing!?" Bell called from the sidelines. 

Robin wasn't listening, though; their hands were folded and their head was bowed as they prayed for safety before Whimsalot. Whimsalot's posture changed and seemed to remember its conscience. 

"Don't give up!" Whimsalot called down to Robin.

Robin looked up and smiled at the Whimsalot as the attack began. Hoisting Frisk up onto their back, Robin spun around as a circle of butterflies came down around them. Stepping to the edges of the ring of butterflies, Robin reached out and touched two green butterflies that boosted theirs and Frisk's HP a point each. The attack ended and Whimsalot didn't want to fight any longer. Giving a low bow, Robin spared Whimsalot and the battle ended. Frisk and Robin split the 100G prize money and turned back to Bell. 

"Nice job!" Bell said, stepping forward and taking Frisk's hand. "Now, let's go hit that switch, huh?"

As Frisk and Bell took another step forward, though, two more monsters appeared. Knight Knight and Madjick had both come to battle their respective opponents again. Brandishing their stick, Frisk looked up to Bell who was clearing the vocal chords. Not wasting another second, the two began their moves. 

The battle was over in less than two rounds, Knight Knight falling asleep to Shyren's song as easily as the first time and Madjick being just as gullible towards a broken tree branch as before. 

"Good work you two," Robin said. "Now, let's get moving before another monster attacks."

The three moved even closer to the switch, but didn't get much closer. As soon as they walked more than a foot, three monsters descended and attacked. 

Bell looked from the Whimsalot to the Astigmatism to the Final Froggit and took in a sharp breath. 

"What a nightmare!" they exclaimed. 

* * *

Laurel and Alex continued up the West side in a straight line. They walked past a bay where enormous cubes of ice were being thrown into the CORE to keep it cool. When they passed there and into the next area, Laurel paused and peered to the left. 

"What's over there?" Laurel wondered out loud. 

"Don't know," Alex said. "Think we should check it out?" 

Laurel walked up to the electronic sign on the wall. "Solve this puzzle, and The End will open."

"Sounds like our ticket," Alex shrugged, and the two went to the left.

In the puzzle room, Laurel and Alex found Twain desperately struggling to solve a puzzle by themself. 

"Hey, Twain, need a hand?" Laurel called out, smiling down at their sibling.

Twain turned away from the puzzle and lit up with relief. "Oh, you guys found me! I went to follow Hop, but I lost track of them. So, when I read the sign out there, I figured I may as well try to do something useful while I waited."

"Good call, buddy," Alex smiled. "How about we give Laurel a crack at it?"

"Okay," Twain said, gladly stepping away from the puzzle. 

Looking at the positioning of the blocks, Laurel was able to decipher the puzzle in a manner of minutes. When the cubes were all slid into place, Laurel turned around and smiled at their siblings. 

"Alright, I think it's been about twenty minutes," Laurel said. "We should head back to the common area."

"Right," Alex nodded. "Let's go!" 

Alex, Laurel, and Twain all made their ways back to the common area, taking care not to get lost or separated again. When they reached the common area, the three of them waited for the others to trickle in.

After a few moments, Robin and Bell came loping into the common area with Frisk holding onto one of each of their hands. 

"Are we all here?" Robin asked, looking around for a head count. "You didn't find Hop?" 

"No," Alex shook their head. 

"Oh no," Twain began to despair, feeling guilty for not being able to keep up with them.

"Hold on," Laurel held up a finger. "If you guys came from the North, and we came from the West, and Hop knows there's nothing new for them to the South...It stands to reason they'll be in the East."

"Of course!" Robin exclaimed, following the logic. "Nice thinking, Laurel. Now, come on!" 

* * *

Hop had wandered all over the CORE by the time they made it to the East Wing. They'd found money and Glamburgers in different trash cans, taking both; they'd attempted a puzzle but found it too difficult and gave up, and had almost battled a Final Froggit but then thought better of it and fled the battle. Now, they found themselves at the start of a great wide bridge. Still looking for Frisk, Hop started forward. 

Miraculously, only one monster attacked as they crossed the bridge. A little eyeball monster named Astigmatism who went away after Hop picked on them. Shrugging at the strange request to be bullied, Hop continued forward. 

On the other side of the bridge, Hop found two different exits from the area. The one was an elevator, one that actually worked; the other was a doorway. After trying the elevator and finding it only took them back to the beginning of the CORE, Hop figured Frisk wouldn't go that way and decided to go through the ornately decorate doorframe.

 _This has to be the way to the elevator that will lead to the King's Castle. Frisk must be through here._ Hop thought, steeling themself as they passed through the doorway. 

The hallway was dark and narrow, Hop couldn't see more than a couple of feet in front of them. The walked for what felt like ages but in reality was only seconds and finally saw a clearing up ahead. There was a vague, smallish figure standing in the center of the room.

"Frisk...?" Hop called out as they stepped into the clearing. When the figure finally came into focus, Hop gasped in shock and nearly jumped out of their skin. Standing before them, wasn't Frisk, but Mettaton. 

"OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING," Mettaton said, sounding bored in his own robotic inflection. "IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE 'MALFUNCTIONING' ROBOT....NOT!!!" 

Hop winced away from the harsh tone of Mettaton's words; he'd never been nice to them per se, but he had never been so blatantly vicious to them either. 

"MALFUNCTIONING? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL," Mettaton said. "THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME." 

Hop swallowed. They knew Mettaton was right, but they hadn't wanted to hear this from him. They'd wanted Alphys to come clean on her own so Hop could forgive her. But now...Mettaton had beaten her to the punch. 

"I-I know that!" Hop shouted, hands shaking at their sides as they stood against the enraged robot alone. "But do you know why!? Maybe she had a good reason."

"GOOD REASON!? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, DARLING," Mettaton snorted. "AS SHE WATCHED YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE INSERTED HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU." 

"But why!?" Hop repeated. 

"HAVEN'T YOU BEEN LISTENING?" Mettaton asked. "SHE DID THIS ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON THAT SHE'S NOT." 

Mettaton allowed for a small silence while his words sank in. While the two stood opposite each other, Hop found themself backing slowly towards the exit. If Mettaton had had a human face, he would have smirked. 

"AND NOW, IT'S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR," Mettaton picked back up again. "AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM. DURING OUR 'BATTLE,' SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ONE FINAL TIME." 

Hop stopped breathing and glanced behind them, hoping Alphys would come through at that very moment. Even if Alphys had lied the whole time, at least she'd never meant to hurt anyone. The way Mettaton was talking...Hop could almost feel his murderous intent permeate his words.

"FINALLY. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU ALL NOT TO LEAVE," Mettaton finished running through the planned sequence of events. "....OR NOT." 

"What do you mean?" Hop asked.

"YOU SEE, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE," Mettaton explained. "I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY."

Hop couldn't wrap their head around whatever angle Mettaton was trying to work. "What do you mean!?" they demanded, growing increasingly distressed the longer Mettaton dragged his monologue out.

"MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN," Mettaton said. "AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY?" 

Hop backed away even further, but found their back pressing flat against some sort of invisible barricade. They couldn't back away anymore. 

"AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW..." Mettaton went on, his voice growing in drama. "...WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?" 

There came a knocking on the door and Hop whipped around in the hopes that it was someone come to help them. 

"H-hey!!! W-wh-what's going on!?" Alphys' voice called from the other side. "Th-the door just locked itself!" 

"SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED!!!" Mettaton declared to the cameras, the floor beneath him lighting up red. "BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!!!"

The floor beneath them shook, and Hop was sent slamming down into the hard tile as the platform they were on with Mettaton sprang up and shot into the air. Backing away from the edges, Hop stared fearfully up at the robot who had them trapped.

"REAL DRAMA!! REAL ACTION!! REAL BLOODSHED!!" Mettaton cheered, raising his hands in excitement. "ON OUR NEW SHOW..."

Hop struggled to their feet, dreading the drop of whatever new title Mettaton could have possibly given his new show. But Mettaton was all too eager to take the reigns of his new program, and wasted no time in revealing the title of his solo debut.

"'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!'" He announced, cackling maniacally as the show began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little note to say: I didn't think I would get this far with this fic. Honestly, I was surprised I even started writing this in the first place. I had never written a fic before this and I just in general have a hard time getting moving on writing projects. If anyone is still reading at this point, I just wanna say thanks for appreciating this work. Because I do write for myself mainly, but a little encouragement from others is always helpful.


	21. Death by Glamour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New show. New title....New body....?

The title was enough to make Hop want to give up, but they didn't have that luxury. Right then, they were the only one who could stop Mettaton. So, straightening their back, Hop unholstered their gun and aimed right for the killer robot. It was just them now. Finally, it was their chance to battle a boss and save the day. But now that they'd finally reached that point, they were terrified. 

"So, you've been taking matters into your own hands down here, huh!?" Hop demanded, pointing their gun at Mettaton with a righteous glare.

"YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT REARRANGED THE CORE! I WAS THE ONE THAT HIRED EVERYONE TO KILL YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS!" Mettaton admitted with a scoff. "THAT, HOWEVER, WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER?"

"What's that?" Hop asked, digging the heels of their shoes into the metal floor.

"KILLING YOU MYSELF!!" Mettaton said with a mocking mechanical laugh.

"Don't bet on it," Hop gritted their teeth. Taking aim, Hop fired directly at Mettaton. But the yellow shots didn't work in the same way they had before. This time, they merely glanced off Mettaton's hard metal body.

"THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING," Mettaton said, completely unfazed by the gunshots.

"Wh-What..?" Hop faltered, lowering their gun.

"MY METAL BODY IS IMPERVIOUS TO ATTACKS. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS!?" 

Hop's eyes widened as the realization of just how outmatched they were dawned on them, scrambling backwards only to reach the edge of the metal platform too soon.

Mettaton gave a disapproving tsk, wagging his finger in admonishment. "LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEE YOU FIGHT," he said. "YOU'RE WEAK. YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY...WEAK. IF YOU CONTINUE FORWARD, ASGORE WILL TAKE ALL OF YOUR SOULS. AND WITH THOSE SOULS, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY."

With that, Mettaton brought down a shower of metal boxes and projected them towards Hop. The attacks were impossibly sporadic and too close together to dodge. Aiming their gun, Hop fired at the boxes and found that; unlike Mettaton, his attacks were not invulnerable to counterattacks. 

"BUT IF I GET YOUR SOUL, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN!" Mettaton exclaimed. "I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION!"

The next attack came down. Copies of Mettaton's arms blocked Hop's path, and they shot out at more of the boxes that had appeared as well in order to get through without any damage.

"THEN, USING YOUR SOUL, I'LL CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING!" Mettaton said. "HUNDREDS! THOUSANDS! NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME!" 

More of Mettaton's arms came down, this time with little yellow targets waving back and forth on them. Hop aimed as best they could, and managed to just barely scrape out of the turn without getting hit.

"GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL!" Mettaton gushed, overflowing with excitement.

"You'd kill someone for _that_!?" Hop shouted, breathing heavily.

"SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE?" Mettaton shrugged. 

"That isn't right!" Hop protested.

"THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!" Mettaton said matter-of-factly. 

"You stupid robot!" Hop snarled. "I'm gonna kick your-"

Hop was interrupted by a sharp, shrill noise. Taking their phone out of their pocket, Hop saw they had an incoming call.

* * *

The other kids had made it to the East bridge and were crossing as fast as they could, calling Hop's name as they went.

"Why aren't any monsters attacking?" Alex wondered.

"Who knows? Right now, I'm just glad they aren't, for whatever reason," Robin said, carrying Frisk in one arm and holding Twain's hand with their free hand.

"Wait a second!" Laurel froze from where they had been walking at the head of the group. "What is _she_ doing here!?"

The six humans all locked their gazes on Dr. Alphys, kneeling by a door at the end of the bridge. Picking up their pace, the six of them all bolted across the remainder of the bridge and came to stop where Alphys was.

"Alphys..." Robin huffed, out of breath from the sprint. Alphys nearly jumped out of her scales at the sound of Robin's voice. "What's going on? What are you doing here!?"

"I...I..." Alphys stammered. "I-I'm so sorry! Th-this wasn't supposed to happen! I pr-promise I didn't m-mean for Hop t-to..."

"What happened to Hop!?" Alex demanded.

"Are they alright?" Robin asked, clutching Frisk and Twain closer to them.

"What did you _do_!?" Laurel glowered at the royal scientist.

"Th-they're not dead!" Alphys insisted, waving their hands out at the humans. 

"Then what happened!?" Bell asked, exasperated. 

"M-Mettaton, he..." Alphys hesitated. "He's in there...battling Hop..."

"What? Another of your fake battles?" Alex scoffed. 

"No, h-he's not...He's not working with me a-anymore..." Alphys bit her lip, wincing as if bracing for what was about to come after she spoke next. "H-he's going to kill them and t-take their s-soul."

"WHAT!?" Alex gasped. 

"Oh my God!!" Robin panicked, letting go of Frisk and Twain to clutch at their chest.

"What are you waiting for!? Open the door!" Bell shouted. 

"I-I'm trying," Alphys promised. "Mettaton's locked it...i-it might take a while...I-I'm so sorry. I had n-no idea he would-"

"This is all your fault!" Laurel screamed, cutting Alphys off. "Our sibling is in there! They could die! And it's all because of you!" 

Alphys cowered away. "Y-you're right. I-I'm sorry." 

"It's too late for that!" Laurel shouted, clenching their fists tightly at their sides. "Y-You've been lying this whole time! You created this mess! Now you fix it!!" 

"I-I'm not sure if I c-can..." Alphys murmured.

That was it for Laurel. An immense shout of frustration erupted from their mouth; then, they ripped their notebook from their pocket and threw it at Alphys.

"FIGURE IT OUT!" Laurel screamed, losing all sense of composure. When Alphys stared blankly down at the spread out notebook on the ground, Laurel made a low growling noise in their chest and started towards her. 

"Laurel!" Robin stepped in, holding Laurel back. 

"Get off of me!" Laurel seethed, trying to push past their oldest sibling.

"No," Robin refused, their voice even. "You need to calm down." 

Laurel reached over Robin's arm and pointed a finger at Alphys. "She's going to let Hop die in there without even trying! She's a liar! A coward!"

Robin looked between Alphys and Laurel.

"Alphys," Robin said evenly. "Is there anything you can do?" 

Alphys straightened her glasses. "Th-th-there's one thing that m-might work..."

"Then, do it!" Robin said, sitting back against the wall with Laurel tucked up to their side. Laurel was still quaking with rage, but allowed for themself to be held close by Robin and tried to settle their breathing.

"O-okay," Alphys nodded, taking out her phone. "H-here goes nothing!"

* * *

"Hello!?" Hop picked up their phone. A herald of static met their ears and they struggled hear what was being said to them.

"U..Uh...I can't see what's going on in there, but...D-d-d-don't give up, okay?" Alphys' voice garbled out. "Th...there's o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton...It's...um...it's...This is a work in progress, so don't judge it too hard...But you know how Mettaton always faces f-forward?"

"I hadn't really noticed," Hop said. "But I guess."

"That's because there's a switch on his backside," Alphys said. "S-s-so, if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around...um...And, um...press th-th-the switch...He'll be...um...He'll be...Vulnerable."

"GIVE HIM HELL, HOP!" Alex's voice boomed out before Alphys could hang up.

Hop's face lit up as they heard their other siblings cheer out in the background. 

"We're all with you, Hop," Robin's voice spoke next, a soothing placid tone in the midst of all the mayhem. "You can win this. We'll be right outside waiting for you when you're done." 

"Don't give up, Hop! Keep going!" Laurel called out, their voice high-pitched with concern. "Pay attention to his patterns!"

"Remember to dodge!" Bell shouted. 

"Don't let him get to you! You can win without hurting him!" Twain added. 

"Be safe," Frisk said. 

"Well," Alphys pulled the phone back to her. "G-g-g-gotta go!" 

Hop was beaming as Alphys hung up. Looking back to Mettaton, they wiped a few stray tears from their eyes and squared up against the murderous robot. 

"HEY METTATON!" they called out, raising their voice to Papyrus levels of volume. "THERE'S A MIRROR BEHIND YOU!" 

"OH?? A MIRROR???" Mettaton said. "RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE!" 

Mettaton turned around, revealing a huge switch across his back.

"HMMM..." Mettaton looked around for the mirror. "I DON'T SEE IT....WHERE IS IT....?"

Not wasting another moment, Hop rushed forward and slammed the button on Mettaton's back. The robot instantly froze and Hop began to back away.

"DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?" Mettaton bit out. 

Then, he turned around to face Hop. Clutching either side of his head, Mettaton's checkerboard face began to go haywire. His entire form shook and sparked and lit up different colors. The switching and sparking continued until the entire space was filled up with a boom of bright white lights. 

Hop couldn't see a thing, the white was so blinding. A beat of silence followed, and Hop actually began to think they had died. But then they heard it.

" _Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeeeeeeeeeesssss_..." a deep, sultry voice crackled out. 

The bright white light settled into a pitch black darkness. Then, two spotlights descended from the ceiling and lit up the spot where Mettaton had been standing. Clouds of dust cleared under the lights and Hop began to make out a vague shape as it came into focus. But what they saw coming into focus wasn't Mettaton...At least, Hop didn't think it was until the silhouette began to speak.

"Ohhh my," the figure spoke. "If you flipped my switch that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body."

 _Okay, so it is Mettaton._ Hop thought, a little weirded out in the sudden change in voice and appearance.

"How rude..." Mettaton tutted, still standing faced away from Hop. "Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So...as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward."

Remembering the kinds of prizes Mettaton usually gave out to humans, Hop took an involuntary step back.

"I'll make your last living moments..." Mettaton shifted his shoulders, preparing for a turn around. "...ABSOLUTELY beautiful!" 

Hop's eyebrows shot into their hairline as Mettaton whipped around. His body had been transformed into a mix of hot pinks, silvers, and blacks. High-heeled pink boots crawled up to his thighs, a ridiculously wide set of shoulder blades shot out from his arms, and his legs went on for miles. He had an actual face now: a silver set of angled cheekbones with huge, bishonen eyes with one covered by his sleek black hair. Surprisingly, Hop was most taken aback by the clear center of Mettaton's body, where a bright pink heart was floating. 

 _Is that...his soul?_ Hop wondered to themself.  

Mettaton danced around and struck poses while Hop got acquainted with the new battleground. Looking up to the lefthand corner of the battlefield, Hop saw that a ratings counter was being projected with second by second updates. They also noted that they could hear the roar of a crowd just outside the shadowy walls of the battledome. 

 _I'll let Mettaton worry about them._ Hop rolled their eyes, checking Mettaton's new stats. 

"His weakness is his heart-shaped core..." Hop read aloud, looking back up to the pink heart at the center of Mettaton' stomach. 

"Lights! Camera! Action!" Mettaton announced. 

Hop felt their heart leap in their chest as the first attack began. 

"What the heck!?" Hop exclaimed as the attack came into view. 

Replicas of Mettaton's mile high legs descended from the ceiling. Firing out at the nearest one, Hop found that the legs would light up yellow and move in and out of their way once shot. Remembering Laurel's advice, Hop paid attention to the timing of the legs' movements and tried to dodge in and out like Bell had with Papyrus' attacks. They turned out to be pretty good at dodging and managed to get through the first attack without any damage to their HP. 

"Hah!" Hop boasted. "I'm not going to get hit at ALL! Bring it on, you big bully!" 

"Oh my..." Mettaton gasped sarcastically, grinning as the ratings began to go up during his turn. "Well, darling, if you're really as good as you say. Then this next attack should be no problem for you! Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!" 

The next attack came down. A string of bombs glided down the center of the battlefield, edged on either side by tiny model Mettatons circa rectangular phase that floated down on little umbrellas. 

Hesitating for just a moment, Hop bolted to one side of the battlefield and fired at the left lineup of Mettatons. As they reached the ground, the string of Mettatons on the right reached into their chests and pulled out heart-shaped attacks that they chucked at Hop. Ducking and diving, Hop tried their best to avoid the hearts. For the most part, they didn't get hit; but they hadn't been able to avoid getting clubbed on the head by one of the heart-shaped attacks and losing a fraction of their HP. 

Rubbing their head, Hop wondered what to do next. They hadn't been too concerned about the audience ratings before, but now they wanted to outshine Mettaton just for spite. Observing Mettaton, Hop figured the best way to win the crowd over was to strike a dramatic pose. Slamming their leg up against the wall of the battledome, Hop stuck their hands behind their head and gave their best imitation of one of Mettaton's poses. The audience nodded and Hop smiled as the ratings went up in their favor.

"I'm the idol everyone craves!" Mettaton declared, doing a pose of his own. 

Three legs came down in succession at the left. Hop shot at them then swerved to get out of their way as they lit up yellow. A row of metal boxes and then three more legs from the right. Hop managed to shoot them all; but their head was too mixed up with everything else happening in the attack that they forget to organize their dodging. The sharp pointed toe of one of the legs jabbed them in the back, gutting their HP down to half. Breathing heavily, they looked up to the stats to see the audience loving the violence.

"Aw, what!?" Hop murmured. Grabbing one of their Glamburgers out of their pocket, Hop bit into the glittery surface. The thing tasted like chewing on a plastic bag, but it maxed out their HP and the audience loved the brand. The stats went up a few hundred points.

"Smile for the camera!" Mettaton called down to Hop, pressing his index fingers up on either side of his menacing grin as a visual example.

Arms this time. Closing one eye, Hop aimed for the pulsing yellow targets along the wrists of the arms and shot. The first arm recoiled as Hop hit the target perfectly. Beyond that, a score of mini Mettatons were waiting. Firing their gun rapidly, Hop took the mini bots out with a storm of yellow shots. It took a few tries the next time, but Hop managed to hi the yellow target on the next arm and come out of the turn in good form. 

Sticking their gun in the air, Hop gave another dramatic pose. The audience cheered. Ratings climbed. 

"Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz!" Mettaton announced, a microphone popping out of Mettaton's right hand and curling into his fingers. Leaning over so his face was at eye-level with Hop, he stuck a hand on his hip and held the microphone out to them. "Now, darling, what do you love most about me?" 

Mettaton yielded to Hop as they formulated an answer. But Hop couldn't think of anything to say, it was Laurel who had always been the one who was good at figuring out the correct answer to people's questions. They were drawing a complete blank. Mettaton recoiled the mic, standing up straight; Hop braced for insulted wrath. 

"Speechless, I see," Mettaton smiled, turning to the audience and giving a pose. "Well, who can blame them!?" 

The audience cheered, and Hop gave a sigh of relief. Feeling better, they gave a pose of their own. 

Mettaton turned back around to Hop, retracted the mic back into his arm, and gave them another smile. 

"Your answer really showed everyone your heart," Mettaton said, spreading his stance and putting his arms wide open. "Why don't I show you mine?" 

The heart-shaped core floating at the center of Mettaton's stomach came out of its casing and began floating up above Hop. As the attack began, the heart shot out electric shocks in every direction. In addition, mini Mettatons kept floating down on either side of the battlefield, throwing projectile hearts at Hop as the attack went on. 

Hop struggled to ignore the blaring music beating in the background of the battle and struggled to dodge everything being thrown at them. If electric shocks weren't pelting into their chest, heart-shaped attacks were winging their shoulders. Firing their gun, Hop managed to hit Mettaton's heart a few times; but they hardly considered it a priority. 

The attack ended and Hop dropped to their knees, clutching at their chest and trying to steady their breathing.

 _Is this what Robin feels like when we stress them out?_ Hop wondered as they tried to settle the hammering of their heartbeat. Digging out another Glamburger, Hop ate it and felt their HP refill and saw the ratings climb a little higher. A breath of phony confidence stirred within them, Hop was determined to finish this battle in a manner glamorous enough to impress even Mettaton.

"That all you got, Metta-jerk!?" Hop called out, straightening their hat. 

"Oooh, I'm just warming up!" Mettaton grinned, dropping into a split as his next attack began. 

An armada of mini Mettatons floated down on their little umbrellas. 

"Shit!" Hop muttered, hoping there was no way Robin heard them swear through some sort of older-sibling-psychic-curse-channel. Aiming skywards, Hop shot at the quickly descending robots. They managed to take out a few of them, but couldn't prevent a good deal of heart attacks getting thrown at them. Hop got nicked on their thigh by one attack and nipped on the ear by another, taking their HP down to half again. 

Not wanting to chance anything, Hop ate another Glamburger and prepared for the next turn. 

"You're quite the talented marksman," Mettaton complimented Hop. "But how are you on the dance floor?" 

Just then, a disco ball lowered into the middle of the battlefield. The spotlights shifted to refract off the mirrored surface of the disco ball, casting a sequence of blue and white beams across the field. 

Hop figured staying still through the blue beams would work well enough, but didn't know what to do when the beams came up white. For lack of any better option, Hop stuck an arm out and shot at the disco ball. The beam was coming up white suddenly turned blue and went right through Hop's still body. Hop grinned and fired their gun again, changing the next beam to blue as well.

Finishing the turn without any damage, Hop struck a dramatic pose. 

"Not bad, sweetheart!" Mettaton winked. At least, Hop figured it was a wink. It was hard to tell with his hair over half of his face. "I might consider bringing you on tour with me...if you can keep up the pace!" 

"Bring it on!" Hop smirked, raising their gun at the ready. 

The disco ball came down again, spinning faster again. But Hop had been handling their gun for years, even before they'd fallen down; and if there was one thing they'd learned to do all those years without bullets, it was pull a trigger. The lights shone and changed and passed through Hop without so much as a burn. Hop smiled up at Mettaton as the turn ended and struck a triumphant pose.

"Lights! Camera! Bombs!" Mettaton said, sticking his tongue out.  

Descending from the ceiling now was a string of bombs and impassable white blocks. Shooting one of the bombs, Hop got hit in the face with the backlash of the explosion. Shrapnel planted in their cheek and almost got stuck in their left eye. Blinking back tears, Hop aimed again. This time, as soon as their shot was fired, Hop dove to the side to avoid getting hit. Then, they were back up and dodging through the gap the exploded bomb had left. They repeated the move for the next two bombs and then the attack was over. 

The crowd cheered at the violence, shouting Mettaton's named and urging him to even greater attacks.

"OH WOULD YOU STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!?!?" Hop whipped around and screamed at the crowd, not realizing they'd wasted their turn on a petty outburst until Mettaton's voice spoke out behind them.

"My, my, my..." Mettaton shook his head as Hop turned slowly to face him. "Things certainly ARE blowing up, aren't they? And I don't just mean your temper, darling...."

More bombs, faster this time. Hop struggled to see straight with their one eye swelled shut and the other dazed from the bright flashes of bombs going off. They stumbled out of the attack alive, but with only 1HP left.

Collapsing to the ground, Hop coughed against the smoke in their lungs. Looking up at Mettaton's increasingly ludicrous dance moves and impossible poses, Hop wondered what they should do next. The logical side of them was telling themself to use their turn to eat a health item, but the insulted part of them wanted to win the crowd back. Adding insult to injury proved as deadly a combination as rumored, because Hop decided against using their dwindling health items and struggled to their feet.

Fighting against every wound and every pain of movement, Hop used the last of their strength to strike a pose and give their most winning smile. The audience screamed, drinking in every ounce of the drama. Hop held the pose for another moment and then fell back to the ground, resting their head against the cool tiles.

"Hmm..." Mettaton pursed his lips, looking from Hop's all but defeated figure and then out to the crowd. Putting on his best smile, Mettaton gave a self-depreciating laugh and turned to the audience. "How silly of me, folks! I seem to have forgotten the most crucial move of them all!" 

Hop picked their head up and wrinkled their brow at Mettaton. Feeling their gaze on his back, Mettaton looked over his shoulder and winked. 

"It's time for our union-regulated break!" Mettaton announced, starting his turn. 

The, for lack of a better word, attack began. But the 'attack' was just the block words "HAPPY BREAKTIME" blinking in transparent gray text. Hop recognized this attack from the first time they'd met Napstablook, and knew there was absolutely no way to receive any damage from this kind of attack. 

Mettaton's turn ended, and suddenly Hop had another chance. Not wasting time on anymore dramatics, Hop ate another Glamburger and gave a grin as their HP maxed out. As their wounds healed, Hop could have sworn they saw Mettaton breathe a sigh of relief. But there was no time to dwell on it, as Mettaton was already back to his old schtick. 

"We've grown so distant, darling..." Mettaton said, spreading his arms wide again. "How about another heart-to-heart?"

Mettaton's heart lowered from his chest once more, surrounded by spinning metal blocks. As bolts of electricity emitted from the heart, the metal cubes flew out in a loose circle. Hop dove to avoid them, but got hit a few times in the shoulders and stomach. Still, they took aim and fired at the floating heart, landing a few strikes. But, as the metal cubes rescinded, a few more caught them in the back. Their HP was still full enough, but Hop wondered if they would make it to the end of the attack. As they worried, they lost focus and received an electric shock straight to the chest. Their HP was now at 3 and there was a metal cube headed straight for them. 

Standing up, they remembered all of the stuff Laurel had been saying about going into autopilot and wondered why it hadn't happened for them yet. The block was too close to avoid getting hit, but Hop made a move to dodge anyways. Before they could move though, there came a magnetic warping noise, and the cube moved ever-so-slightly to the right and missed Hop entirely. 

Hop stared up at Mettaton. He kept dancing and posing as if nothing were going on, but Hop had dealt with him enough to see through his acting.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Hop demanded, punctuating each syllable with a gunshot to Mettaton's heart. There was an exploding noise, and Mettaton's arms came clean off with a gust of smoke and a snap of sparks.

 _What is up with this guy?_   Hop wondered as they bit into a Crab Apple. Mettaton's face looked conflicted, like his heart and his mouth were saying two different things. 

"A...arms?" Mettaton stammered. And when he spoke, his voice sounded strange, like it was shifted back to his old automated tone. "Wh...who needs arms with legs like these? I'm still going to win!"

 _Does he want me to live or not!?_ Hop thought as his next attack began.  

Lines of bombs floated down, with harmless metal boxes intermittent in each line-up. Looking down at the blinking record button in the corner, Hop remembered Laurel's voice urging them to memorize patterns. And so they shot at the metal boxes, trying to figure out what the angle of the attack was. The answer came when the record button switched to rewind and all the lines of bombs came whipping back up. But Hop had remembered the patterns and laced through the lines without getting hit. 

Even though they were still hurt, Hop gave a pose. The audience applauded. 

"Come on...!" Mettaton shouted in frustration, but he sounded more flustered with himself than with Hop. 

More of the bomb lines. Hop followed the same procedure they had the last turn. But the lines were falling and receding faster this time, and so they did suffer some damage. Checking their health items, Hop saw that their supplies were limited; and decided that 11HP wasn't dire enough to waste a health item on. So, they struck another pose. The ratings boosted. 

 _Almost at ten thousand, wow!_ Hop marveled quietly. They knew it wasn't their show, but they still felt pretty famous.

"The show..." Mettaton struggled to speak, his voice wavering in and out of coherency. "...must go on!"

A cluster of bombs and metal blocks fell down. Hop almost breathed a sigh of relief. This was their kind of attack. Shooting at the metal blocks, Hop wove in and out of the maze of attacks without hardly breaking a sweat. Feeling confident, they struck another pose.

"Dr...Drama! A...Action!" Mettaton said, his voice shorting out.

Another cluster. Hop grinned, weaving through the attack as flawlessly as the previous.

"Hah!" Hop smiled, striking a pose with their gun slung over their shoulder and their hat held in the air. 

"L...Lights...C...Camera..."  Mettaton garbled out. Suddenly, he turned his frustration to Hop. "Enough of this!"

Hop was startled by the sudden harshness of Mettaton's voice. "Wh-what?" 

"Do you really want humanity to perish!?" Mettaton snapped. Then, he looked at Hop's face and his eyebrow lifted; his entire face changed as a new possibility dawned on him. "...or do you just believe in yourself that much?"

"Hah!" Hop laughed in the brief moment before the attack began, and Mettaton looked confused at their lightheartedness. 

"I really don't, Mettaton!" Hop called as they shot and dodged the bombs flying at them. 

One bomb exploded and burned their chin. 

"In fact," Hop continued, slightly out of breath. "You terrify me!" 

Hop finished going through the attack, coming out with 6HP.

"But!" Hop announced, posing for the crowds. "My family believes in me. And knowing they're all waiting for me on the other side of that door...Well, that's enough to keep me going!" 

"Haha, how inspiring!" Mettaton smiled, giving a little laugh through his nose and shaking his head. "Well, darling! It's either me or you! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star!" 

Hop braced themself as Mettaton's heart came down out of his core once again. Two bombs circled around the heart as electric sparks came out of it. Diving to avoid getting shocked, Hop's entire world blared red. It took them a moment to register what was happening, but finally realized that it was a big bright exclamation point warning them that something was about to happen on the left side of the battledome. 

Scrambling away just in time, Hop came nose-to-toe with a score of Mettaton's legs. Those legs backed away and the other side started beeping with red. Hop dove from side to side until the legs stopped. But somewhere along the lines, their cadence got messed and the next time all of those legs shot out Hop got kicked back agains the battledome walls. 

Gasping, they clutched their side and wondered if they had any broken ribs. Struggling to their feet, Hop felt their HP had gotten down to the minimum again. Looking up, they saw a surge of electric bolts coming for them. Before they couldn't even think to dodge, something invisible grabbed their heart and yanked them to the side. Hop felt themself get pulled through the labyrinthine shoots of electricity against their will, dodging flawlessly. 

 _So **this** is what Laurel was talking about!_ Hop blinked. Shrugging, Hop figured to use the autopilot to their advantage. Taking their gun out again, Hop shot at Mettaton's heart while the dodging did itself. 

Hop laughed, feeling immense relief as the turn ended. But their victory was short-lived as they watched Mettaton's legs shoot off, leaving him as nothing but a head and torso. 

Pulling out their last Glamburger, Hop swallowed the edible sequins and finished their turn. 

"...then..." Mettaton rasped, his voice shooting in and out of focus rapidly. "Are YOU the star? Can you really protect humanity!?" 

Mettaton's heart floated into the air again. But Hop ended up worrying more than they needed to. The next attack was just one-track bolts of electricity shooting at one location for short bursts of time. All Hop ended up having to do was moving a little to the side each time the heart paused to charge back up. 

"I don't know if anyone can protect humanity, Mettaton," Hop said as the bolts flew past them. "But I can try, can't I?" 

The turn ended, and Hop went to pose for the crowds. But, they were interrupted by Mettaton's voice. It had gone back to the automated version he'd had when he was rectangular, but was still brimming with excitement. 

"OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!!!" Mettaton said, looking to the ratings bar that had climbed just over ten thousand. "THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD!!! WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE! ONCE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME... ... BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER!! LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!"

An off-stage phone rang, and Mettaton picked up through what must have been electronic correspondence. 

"HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW???" Mettaton asked the mystery caller.

".....oh........ hi...mettaton..." a familiar, hesitant voice spoke out; Hop recognized it immediately. "I really liked watching your show... my life is pretty boring, but... seeing you on the screen... brought excitement to my life... vicariously..."

Hop almost called out their name, but stopped when they saw Mettaton's face. He looked...sad. And Hop realized he already knew who was on the other line. 

"I can't tell, but... I guess this is the last episode...?" the caller continued, and Mettaton's face just grew sadder and sadder the longer they spoke. "I'll miss you... mettaton.........oh.... I didn't mean to talk so long... oh.........."

"NO, WAIT! WAIT, BL..." Mettaton called out, but it was too late. "H...THEY ALREADY HUNG UP...I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!" 

Hop watched as Mettaton accepted dozens more calls, all bearing similar messages:

"Mettaton, your show made us so happy!" 

"Mettaton, I don't know what I'll watch without you!" 

"Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart."

Watching Mettaton's face, Hop realized Mettaton didn't care just about fame. It was just another act. And he'd performed so well he'd managed to convince even himself. 

"AH....I....I SEE...." Mettaton murmured, his eyes downcast. "EVERYONE...THANK YOU SO MUCH...."

Then, Mettaton looked up at Hop; who gave him a smile. All of the competitiveness had gone out of the two, and now there was nothing left to do except talk. 

"DARLING," Mettaton began, all prior condescension washed out of his voice. "PERHAPS...IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS, BUT MONSTERS...THEY ONLY HAVE ME." 

Mettaton looked to the side and smiled sadly. 

"IF I LEFT...THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE IT'S SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT COULD NEVER BE FILLED," Mettaton continued, looking back up into Hop's eyes. "SO...I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT." 

"Are you sure?" Hop asked, crouching down so Mettaton didn't have to strain his neck upwards. 

"SURE I'M SURE!" Mettaton gave a gentle laugh, his audio box crackled at the exertion. "BESIDES. YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. PERHAPS...EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST ASGORE...AND YOU'LL HAVE YOUR FAMILY WITH YOU...I'M SURE, IF YOU WORK TOGETHER, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HUMANITY!"

"Even if we can't dance like you?" Hop joked.

"HAHA..." Mettaton laughed again, wincing as another spark snapped. "IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS...INEFFICIENT."

"What do you mean?" Hop asked, face growing concerned.

"IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND...WELL, I'LL BE ALRIGHT," Mettaton shrugged. Then, he turned and gave Hop an encouraging smile. "KNOCK 'EM DEAD, DARLING! AND EVERYONE...THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!"  

Mettaton's power finally gave out, and he went quiet. The battledome fell away and the platform lowered to the ground. For the first time in years, Hop stood completely alone.

The solitude didn't last for long. There came a noise like a door whooshing open and suddenly the room was full of pounding footsteps. 

"Hop!" Laurel was the first to run into view. Sliding up to Hop on their knees, Laurel threw their arms around their sibling and held them close.

The other humans all came rushing in after Laurel, each one piling into the hug and looking Hop over for any remaining injuries. It was a jubilee of relief.

"I... I managed to open the lock!" Alphys announced, stepping in last. "Are you two..."

Alphys' face fell when she looked past the humans and spied Mettaton where he lay in a pile of his own rubble. 

"Oh my god!" Alphys ran towards the unconscious robot. "Mettaton! Mettaton, are you..."

The kids all watched as Alphys examined her creation. She stayed hunched over Mettaton for a moment, then turned back to face the humans.

"...thank GOD, it's just the batteries," Alphys breathed a sigh of relief. "Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have...I would have..."

Hop furrowed their brow, frowning at Alphys' reaction. They remembered how emotional Mettaton had gotten during the battle. They remembered his face when he heard the first caller's voice. After that, they weren't so sure about him just being a robot anymore.

"I m-mean, h-hey, it's n-no problem, you know?" Alphys gave a nervous laugh, turning around to face the kids. "He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I c-could always... J-just build another....Uh, why don't you guys go on ahead?"

"Are you sure?" Hop asked immediately. 

"Yeah," Alphys nodded jerkily. "I...I just need a moment." 

Robin nodded and, picking Hop up off the ground, began to lead the way out of the room. 

The group strode somberly through the exit and came to a stretch of hallway that matched the rest of the CORE. Walking in silence, the humans spied an elevator at the end of the hall. As they kept walking, Alphys finally came up behind them. The humans stopped walking and turned to look at her. 

"S...Sorry about that!" Alphys said, twiddling her hands nervously. "L-let's keep going!"

Frisk made no hesitation and picked up the pace immediately. The other humans followed along, each of them feeling their own private blend of anxiety at finally making it to the King's Castle. 

"S-So, you're about to meet Asgore, h-huh?" Alphys blurted out, cutting through the tense silence with tense conversation. "You guys must be...Y-You must be...Pr...Pretty excited about all that, huh?"

No one said anything in reply, just kept walking. 'Excited' wasn't the word any of them would have used; but, as it was, they all felt too sick with nerves to muster any attempt at describing what they were feeling. Alphys, on the other hand, couldn't seem to stop talking.

"You'll f-finally...You'll finally get to go home!" Alphys said, twitching up a nervous smile.

The group had reached the elevator; the others waited for Robin's initiative. Setting Hop down, Robin took a deep breath. Reaching out with a shaking hand, they pressed the button and the elevator doors whooshed open. They were about to take the first step into the elevator, when Alphys suddenly spoke.

"W...Wait!" Alphys cried out.

The seven humans all turned to look at her, varying degrees of concern and irritation and confusion etching onto each of their faces. 

"I mean, um...I...I was just going to...um...Say goodbye, and..." Alphys' grin slowly began to falter. Silence pursued as she turned away, posture slouching into shame and regret. "...I can't take this anymore."

"What's wrong, Alphys?" Twain asked. 

"I..." Alphys broke off with a strangled noise, like she was trying not to cry. "I lied to you. I lied to all of you."

Laurel bit their tongue. Of course they wanted to snap at Alphys and tell everyone how they'd known it all along; but the way Alphys was talking, Laurel actually felt sorry for her instead of angry for a change.

"What do you mean?" Robin pressed, thinking they knew what she was going to say. 

Alphys took a deep, shuddering breath. "A human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone."

The kids all looked between each other in befuddlement. None of them had expected those words to come out of Alphys' mouth.

"But, you told us..." Bell started, but couldn't seem to muster any energy to be outraged. 

"I know," Alphys hung her head even lower. "But I lied. It takes at least a human soul...And a monster soul."

Alphys' words settled like a stone in the humans' hearts and, for as far as they'd come, they all felt as if they were still no closer to the Barrier than they'd been back at Home. Alphys sighed and then, steeling herself, turned back around and looked back up to the humans.

"If you want to go home...You'll have to take his soul." Alphys said. "You'll have to kill Asgore."

"Wh-What?" Robin asked, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of them. 

Alphys didn't say another word - couldn't say another word. She began walking out of the room.

"Wait a minute!" Laurel called out. "You can't just say something like that and leave!" 

Alphys paused. Laurel waited for her to say something, but all Alphys could manage was a miserable: "...I'm sorry."

"What!? That's it!?" Laurel called after Alphys' diminishing figure. Busting to the front of the group, Laurel tried to chase after Alphys; but, as soon as they were more than a couple feet from the elevator, their body slammed still as if it had hit an invisible wall. "What the-Hey! Alphys, get back here!" 

"Laurel..." Robin stepped forward, placing their hands on their siblings shoulders and guiding them back. "It's no use. We have to keep going now."

Stepping up to the elevator, Robin took a deep breath. They knew they had to be the one to take the first step, to be the brave older sibling; but the truth was that they didn't feel brave, in that moment. They felt like running home and never looking back.

Then, they felt a hand on their shoulder. Looking to their right, Robin saw Alex was right by their side. The two shared a silent nod, and moved forward together. 

The seven kids all crowded into the elevator, squishing up against each other in a mess of limbs. Under other circumstances, a fight would have broken out about whose arm was touching whom; but no one felt like talking. Robin pressed the button to go to the King's Castle and the elevator jolted upwards.

The ride was long. It dragged on for what felt like an eternity. And what was worse, no one could think of anything worthwhile to say that would make anyone feel better. Eventually, though, Hop grew tired of the silence and asked what everyone else was thinking. 

"So, what are we gonna do?" Hop asked, leaning tiredly against the cold metal walls of the elevator. 

"What can we do?" Bell said. "You heard Alphys. There's no other way."

"But is it worth it? To kill someone?" Twain asked, biting their lip to keep from crying.

"Well, it's not like every monster in the underground hasn't been trying to kill us," Alex shrugged, trying to seem indifferent and failing miserably.

"This can't be the only solution," Laurel said. "No human has ever even made it to this point. How would anyone know what's possible and what isn't?"

"What do you want to do? Have a good ol' brainstorming session with King Asgore?" Alex scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Why not!?" Laurel asked. "It could work."

"You know what else could work for Asgore? Killing all of us and shattering the barrier," Alex snapped. 

"Yeah," Bell nodded. "Look, we don't have a choice, okay?" 

"Yes we do," Twain muttered. "I won't do it."

"You won't have to," Bell promised.

"No, I-" Twain faltered. "I mean, I won't let you guys do it either!" 

"Twain, this is how things have to-" 

"No!" Twain protested. 

"UGH, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!?" Hop shouted. 

"Because it does," Alex said. 

"Robin, what do you think?" Laurel asked. 

All eyes shifted to the oldest sibling. Robin squirmed under everyone's gaze, not knowing how to respond.

"I...I..." Robin stammered. wiping their sweaty palms on the front of their robe. "I...I'm not sure..."

"We can't kill someone!" Twain objected.

"We can't let ourselves get killed though!" Bell countered.

"But Robin, don't you think there could be a better way to solve this?" Laurel asked. 

"I..." Robin pressed themself further back into the elevator.

"Who's gonna have to kill Asgore!?" Hop piped up. 

"Robin, any input at all?" Alex pressed. 

"I don't know!" Robin shouted, slamming their fist back against the wall. 

_Ding!_

The elevator doors opened. 

No one moved for a moment. No one made a sound. The seven humans all stood in perfect silence, listening to each other's breathing; not moving forward, not moving backward. Not moving at all. 

Then, Frisk stepped out of the elevator. Looking around them, Frisk turned back to the other six humans and waved them on. 

With trepidation, the rest of the group followed after Frisk. The elevator, as it turned out, hadn't let out directly at the King's Castle. Instead, it let out on the long road to the King's Castle. Together, the kids all stepped onto the dull gray path and walked forward. 

As they walked, silence clung to the group like a cheap perfume. No word seemed big enough to fill the expanse of hollow victory the humans felt as they passed through the gray stone hallways. The long road turned at one point, and the children found themselves edged in by grand parapets and climbing towers that they figured must be part of the King's Castle. As anxious as they were after receiving Alphys' news, the humans all could still muster a bit of excitement for the fact that they were about to see Asgore's castle. The promise of seeing The End was enough to keep them moving. 

They strode past two more elevators, both of which were in use. But the humans found themselves glad that they couldn't turn back. Because they'd come so far. They'd made it past so much. It would be a shame not to finish the story, even if the ending wasn't the fairytale finish they had all hoped for. 

One last turn in the road, one last stretch of path to walk, and the humans would be at the heart of the King's Castle. Robin took the lead, their hands shaking more and more the closer they got to the end of the path. Part of them wished that the end of the path would never come, that they would just keep walking forever and ever. Because at least walking towards something bore the hope of things turning out alright; or, at the very least, never reaching a goal meant never having to face the disappointment that came with the realization that things often didn't turn out the way you wanted them to. But Robin knew those wishes were unreasonable and, no matter how much they wanted them in the moment, they knew they couldn't be happy in a state of never reaching. They couldn't keep walking forever. At some point, the journey had to end.

Inevitably, the path ran out. Robin paused at the gaping blackness before them, the rest of their siblings waiting for them to take the first step. Taking a deep breath, Robin took a step into the next area and the other six followed. 

When the darkness gave way to the next room, the seven humans all gasped in shock. They'd all imagined what Asgore's castle might look like dozens of times. Each of them had had their own expectations for what their final destination before returning to the surface would be. But none of them had expected the reality now sitting before their eyes.

None of them had expected to come all this way and find themselves back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....New Home


	22. Undertale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Such a cute, tidy house in the middle of The End.

Robin couldn't move. They were staring up at the King's Castle and they couldn't move. The longer they looked at the cute, tidy house before them, the harder it was to see anything. Clutching their chest, Robin squeezed their eyes shut and gave a heartbroken whimper. Bending down, Robin sat on the cold gray floor. The other six humans watched in horror as Robin broke into hysterics, an incoherent sadness emitting from their sobs as they sat rocking on the ground. 

"It looks...I-It looks just like..." Bell murmured, eyes frozen on the house before them. 

"It looks just like Home," Laurel finished for them, pushing their glasses up in wonder. "Exactly like it." 

Alex couldn't speak, covering their mouth and averting their eyes. 

"Wh-why though?" Hop wondered, tears filling in their eyes. "Is this some kind of joke!?" 

"I wonder if..." Twain bit their lip. "I wonder if the inside..."

"New Home," Frisk said, daring to walk a little closer to the house.

"Wh-what?" Robin asked, settling their crying enough to speak again.

"The place," Laurel explained, standing behind Bell with their arms around their waist. "It's called New Home. I remember reading about it. But I never expected..." 

"Well, what are we all standing around for!?" Alex burst out suddenly. The others looked over to where they were standing and saw Alex poised with both hands on their hips. They looked courageous as ever, but something around their eyes gave them away; and the others could tell Alex was as startled by New Home as the rest of them.

"Asgore's not going to come out here and greet us!" Alex picked up again. "Let's go find him! And then...And then...!" 

"We'll worry about that when we get to it," Robin said, standing up off the ground and wiping their tears away on their sleeve. "Right now, let's just get there. We didn't come all this way for nothing, right?" 

"Right!" Alex nodded, pumping their fist into the air. They gave a wobbly smile, apprehension etching into their expression.

The group continued forwards. Usually, the younger kids protested to Robin's tendency to stand guard at the front; but now they found themselves pressing themselves close together behind their oldest sibling as they marched into the little house. With unsteady legs, Robin walked through the doorway and the others followed.

Hushed noises of wonder and confusion washed over the group as they entered the house. The layout was almost identical to their Home, the only giveaway that it was a different place was the grayscale in which it was fashioned. 

Spying the staircase, Robin moved towards it and tested the chain blocking the way downwards. 

"It's locked," Robin murmured, fingers grazing the two padlocks on either side of the chain. "That's odd."

"What's the note say?" Laurel asked from where they still stood hiding behind Bell. 

"Note? Oh!" Robin exclaimed, not even having noticed the note posted along the chain. Picking it up, they read the message aloud. "Howdy! I'm in the garden. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come. The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway."

Robin's hands shook as they read the note. They knew they should be scared of Asgore, knew they should hate him for what he was going to try and do; but, reading his note, Robin just couldn't bring themself to it. 

"Howdy....?" Alex broke the silence. "Sounds like someone we know."

"Do you mean me!?" Hop asked, indignant.

Alex rolled their eyes. "No, Hop, I meant-" 

"Hey, what's that noise?" Bell interrupted, craning their neck towards the common room. "Is there someone else here?"

"Probably not," Robin brushed the front of their robe off, walking towards the next area. "We're all on edge, it's probably just nerves."

The kids walked into the living room. Pangs of homesickness pitted in the seven humans' hearts as they looked on the familiar set up of the room. 

"These flowers..." Bell murmured, picking up a vase in the middle of the table to the left. "They're the same as the ones in my hometown."

"That's weird," Laurel said, examining some gardening tools. "How'd they get flower seeds from the surface down here?" 

"Maybe some fell down," Hop suggested, smoothing the cover of a scrapbook before replacing it on the bookshelf. "Like us!" 

"Maybe..." Robin said, sitting down in the reading chair by the fireplace. "This chair doesn't seem to get much use."

"This place..." Twain breathed, wandering up towards the kitchen. "There has to be a reason why it looks like Mom's house."

Twain gave a startled yelp as they took a step forward and two Froggits jumped out at them. The humans turned towards their sibling's outcry and gasped as they all felt themselves get pulled into a battle. But there were no options to act or spare. Because the Froggits weren't attacking. None of the humans knew how to react, so, they just stood and waited for something to happen.

"A long time ago," one of the Froggits began. "A human fell into the Ruins."

The seven kids looked between each other, confused. As far as they knew, they were all of the humans that had ever fallen down.

"Injured by its fall, the human called out for help," the other Froggit added. 

Then, the two monsters were gone as quickly as they'd came. 

"What was that?" Laurel, who had been copying the story down, muttered in confusion.

"L-let's keep moving," Robin suggested, heading into the kitchen. Moving to the counter, they picked up one of the keys and put it on their keychain.

"Howdy! Help yourself to anything you want!" Twain's voice sounded next to Robin, reading another note aloud. 

"Ugh, why would we want to?" Hop groaned, opening the fridge. "It's full of nothing but unopened containers of snails."

"Heh, maybe Mom does live here," Alex joked, checking out the stove. "Looks like someone uses fire magic." 

"White fur in the drain...." Laurel pointed out. "You don't think that Asgore might be the same type of monster as Mom, do you?" 

"He certainly seems to have the same taste in food," Twain remarked, glancing into the trash can. "This bin is full of crumpled-up recipes for butterscotch pie." 

"Guess he can't get it right," Alex said. 

"That's sad," Twain frowned, giving the trash can a forlorn glance as they moved back out of the kitchen.

As the group crossed through the common room again, two more monsters popped out at them. Whimsums this time, but they weren't running away without a word. Instead, they were the first to speak.

"Asriel, the king's son, heard the human's call," one Whimsum spoke.

"He brought the human back to the castle," the other continued. 

"Asriel?" Robin furrowed their eyebrow, but the Whimsums were gone before the question could even fully leave their mouth. "What is going on?" 

"The monsters want to tell us a story," Twain shrugged. "It must be important. They're not attacking at all."

Frisk moved to the front of the group, crossing the main entrance again. The others followed them to a hall with three doors that perfectly matched the hall at Home. Reaching their little hand upwards, Frisk turned the knob on the first door and went inside. 

The seven humans all crowded into the little room. There were two gift-wrapped boxes on the floor which Hop immediately moved to inspect.

"They're both addressed to you, Frisk," Hop said, holding the boxes out to the youngest child. 

The others watched as Frisk tore open the presents. Opening the first box, they tugged out a Heart-Shaped Locket. 

"Wow! That's beautiful!" Bell remarked. "Do you want me to help you put it on?" 

Frisk nodded, ripping their old bandage off and tossing it away. Bell took the locket in their hands and unclasped the back. Pulling it around Frisk's neck, Bell fastened the clasp and let the necklace settling against Frisk's chest. 

"Best Friends Forever," Laurel read the inscription on the locket. "I wonder who left that for you...?"

"What's in the other box!?" Hop bounced on their tiptoes.

Frisk opened the other box and found a Worn Dagger inside. Taking it in their hands, Frisk threw away their old stick. 

"Looks like someone has a secret admirer," Alex joked, ruffling Frisk's hair. "You don't think Asgore left those, do you guys?" 

"No way," Robin shook their head. "I'm not sure he even knows we're coming." 

"Wow, look at this!" Hop exclaimed, pointing to a drawing of a flower on the wall. "It's beautiful! I wish I could draw that well."

"One of his kids must have done that," Alex said, peering into the closet. "A lot of striped shirts in here."

"I didn't know he was a father," Robin said, running their hand over the quilt on one of the beds. "But where are his kids? Why haven't we heard of them before now?"

Laurel picked up a picture frame on the edge of the bookshelf. A family picture. Their eyebrows raised up over the rims of their glasses as they saw the whole family. Giving a small gasp, they quickly slammed the frame facedown and turned away. 

"Can we get out of here?" Laurel asked, their voice cracking. "Th-this room is making me upset."

"Sure," Robin nodded slowly, giving Laurel a strange look. "We'll go get the other key and then move on, okay?"

The kids filed out of the bedroom, making their way down the hallway. They walked past vases filled with golden flowers and came to another familiar door. 

"This is where Mom's room is back home," Twain said.

"Room under renovations," Bell read the sign. "That sounds familiar."

"That's what the sign on the far room at Home said," Robin recalled. "Before Laurel fell down that room was closed off."

"I wonder..." Alex looked down to the end of the hall, where they spied another door. "Let's grab the other key and then take a look in there."

Alex started for the table with the key on it, but was stopped when three Moldsmals pulled them and the others into a battle. 

"Over time," the Moldsmal on the left began. "Asriel and the human became like siblings." 

"The King and Queen treated the human child as their own," the middle Moldsmal continued. 

"The underground was full of hope," the Moldsmal on the right finished. 

Robin blinked, reaching up to touch the front of their robe. "Queen...?"

"This is getting really weird," Bell said, grabbing the key off the table and heading for the last door. "Come on, Alex, you wanted to see this last room, right?" 

"Y-Yeah," Alex nodded once, unsteady. 

Walking down to the end of the hallway, Alex and Bell were the first to head into the room. Taking in everything before them, the two gasped in shock. After everything they'd seen in New Home, the sight of the room shouldn't have been so surprising; but it did just the same. 

The others followed into the room. Robin was about to walk in after their other five siblings, when they noticed Frisk standing a little ways to the right. Standing in front of the mirror, Frisk gave their own reflection a long eye.

"Despite everything, it's still you." Robin said, coming to stand by Frisk and placing their hands gently on their shoulders.

Frisk slowly reached up to their shoulder and placed a hand over one of Robin's.

"Still us," Frisk smiled. 

Robin laughed gently, a small sob catching on their voice. 

"Robin!" Alex stuck their head out of the room. "You'll wanna see this." 

Robin, taking Frisk's hand, rushed into the room and took a look around. Clapping a hand to their face, Robin tried to stifle the overwhelming crying they could feel coming on.

"Why is this happening?" Robin murmured, stepping into the room. "It looks just like how the room at Home looked before we changed it." 

"Give or take a few details," Alex said, picking up the journal spread on the desk.

"Hey, you shouldn't read that," Bell scolded. 

"All it says is: 'Nice day today!'" Alex scoffed. Then, their face changed. "The ink is still wet."

"Hey, more flower art!" Hop smiled, looking up at the macaroni sculpture. They read the inscription out loud. ""For King Dad!' Guess that means Asgore, huh?"

"He has a Santa Claus outfit," Twain said, looking into the bureau. 

"Bell, look at this!" Laurel called out, holding up a pink sweater from the dresser. "It's kind of like the one you brought from Home!" 

"My old sweater...?" Bell said, thinking of the sweater they'd put in the Box back when they'd reached Hotland. "Yeah, it's the same size and everything. Hah. Except, mine doesn't say 'Mr. Dad Guy' on it." 

"Frisk, are you okay?" Robin asked, turning to the youngest child. 

Frisk was standingin the corner, one hand braced on a Nose-Nuzzling trophy and the other pressed against their forehead. A single tear was making its way down their cheek as they looked at the sweater. When they saw that everyone's eyes were on them, Frisk shook their head and gave a half-smile and a shrug. 

"All of this stuff..." Bell said, giving the room another once over. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" 

"Depends," Alex said, sitting down in the desk's chair. "What are you thinking?"

Bell gave a hollow laugh, shaking their head and crossing to Frisk. Reaching down, they picked up the trophy and pointed to the engraving. "Toriel was totally married to this guy."

"WHAT!???" Hop yelled.

"Oh, come on, guys!" Bell said as their suggestion was met with silence. "Th-the room under renovations, the butterscotch pie recipes, the snails, the fact that this place looks exactly like Home, the-the-"

"The picture," Laurel added quietly. 

"Picture?" Robin asked. 

* * *

The picture frame shook in Robin's grip. Laurel had led their siblings back to the kids' room and held up the family picture for them to see. Seeing the smiling faces in the picture, there was no doubt that the goat monster they saw was their mother. Handing the photo off to Alex, Robin went to sit on one of the twin beds.

"So...Bell was right?" Twain asked.

"I guess it makes sense," Alex muttered, rubbing the back of their neck.

"Mom..." Robin murmured. "Why didn't you tell me? I knew she had kids before I fell down but I never...She told me..."

Alex saw their sibling start to downward spiral and immediately stepped in. Even though they were having their own inner crisis at this latest bomb, Alex knew they could swallow their emotions and keep moving; but Robin had long since reached their breaking point.

"Whatever she told you, Robin," Alex spoke. "I'm sure she was only keeping stuff from you for your own good. That's the reason why none of us even knew as much as you did. And...When we see her again, I promise we'll get the truth from her, okay? But right now, we've got work to do."

Robin looked up, tears streaking their face.

"You're right," Robin sniffed, standing up on their feet.

"Whoa, can I get that in writing?" Alex joked.

Robin gave a single laugh. "No. Let's keep moving."

"Had to try," Alex shrugged, following their sibling out of the room. The other kids followed as well, leaving only Frisk and Hop left in the area. 

"So, if these were Mom's kids too..." Hop peered at the picture. "Whatever happened to them? Did she just leave them? Why would she do that?"

Hop looked down to Frisk for their input, but the younger child just shook their head to say they didn't know. Then, Frisk started to leave the room. Giving the picture one last look, Hop set the frame back on the shelf and went to catch up with everyone. 

"No more monsters," Laurel was saying when Hop caught up to the group. "Do you think their story is over?" 

"Well, it was very sweet," Bell said, turning one of the keys in its lock. "But I'm failing to see the relevance." 

"Then they probably weren't done," Robin said, turning the other key. The chain fell away with a clunk after the padlocks were undone. "My guess is the rest is down there." 

The group started for the staircase.

"Hold on a second," Laurel stopped everyone as they passed a small shelf. Reaching out, Laurel pulled an old calendar out from one of the shelves. "It's from 201X."

"That's kinda long ago," Robin said, glancing at the calendar. "A good few years before I fell down. Wonder why that's here?" 

"Uhh, I'm not sure," Laurel shrugged. "There's just one date circled on it."

"Eh, nothing makes sense anymore," Alex sighed. "Can we just get this over with?" 

The others silently agreed, putting the calendar away and heading down the stairs. 

* * *

The area under the stairs was the same kind of nondescript tunnel back at Home, and by now the kids had taken to completely expecting an identical layout to their home and didn't even react. They just kept walking.

Without making it five feet down the tunnel, the kids were stopped by two Migosps. Something struck them about this attack though, and the air in the room seemed to turn austere all of a sudden. Like a sudden punch to the gut. 

"Then..." the first Migosp said "One day..."

"The human became very ill," the second Migosp finished. Then, the two monsters were gone.

The others looked back to Robin, whose expression looked more frightened than it had during any of the other stages of their journey. All of the other terrors had been unexpected shocks to Robin, but this part of the story they knew. Without another word, they continued forward. 

"The sick human had only one request," a Vegtoid spoke up after a few more feet. 

"To see the flowers from their village," another Vegetoid said.

"But there was nothing we could do," the last Vegetoid added solemnly. 

"Oh no," Twain pressed their hand to their face in concern. 

"I don't like this story," Hop shook their head as they followed their siblings to the next stretch of tunnel.

"The next day..." a Loox continued. 

"The next day..." another echoed.

"...." the first Loox took a deep breath.

The second Loox continued with the same breath. 

"The human died."

No one said anything, just kept walking in silence and feeling sick to their stomachs. They kept moving until more monsters came out, having gotten into the habit of moving forward for the next part of the story. The next were two Snowdrakes.

"Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul," the first Snowdrake said. 

"He transformed into a being with incredible power," the other added. 

Laurel shuddered, remembering the grotesque illustration of that very type of being back in Waterfall. The one that had been too frightening for them to even copy down. 

Three Ice Caps appeared next. 

"With the human soul, Asriel crossed through the barrier..." 

"He carried the human's body into the sunset..."

"Back to the village of the humans..." 

The group kept moving and were stopped again by three Woshuas. 

"Asriel reached the center of the village..."

"There, he found a bed of golden flowers..."

"He carried the human onto it..."

Bell thought of their home on the surface. They had lived right at the base of the mountain, and knew the exact bed of flowers the monsters were talking about. Thinking back, they remembered hearing old stories of a similar nature. As they remembered the ending, Bell struggled to listen to the next part. 

"Suddenly, screams rang out," a Shyren spoke. 

"The villagers saw Asriel holding the human's body," another added. 

"They thought that he had killed the child," a third Shyren said. 

"No..." Twain murmured, tears welling in their eyes.

"The humans attacked him with everything they had," a Training Dummy followed up.

"He was struck with blow after blow..."

"He had the power to destroy them all..."

Laurel's hand shook as they copied the story down. For the first time in a long while, they weren't sure they wanted to know the rest of the details.

"But..." Knight Knight's deep, musical voice bellowed out after the kids had walked a few more feet. 

"Asriel did not fight back," Madjick said, his voice more serious than it had been in the CORE.

"Clutching the human..." Knight Knight said, bowing her head. 

"Asriel smiled, and walked away," Madjick said. 

Tears streaked Alex's face. Now, they knew how Robin had been feeling this whole trip. Instead of going forward, Alex wanted nothing more than to turn around and go home. They thought about turning and running in the opposite direction, grabbing their siblings and just running from an ending they didn't want to hear. But, despite their fear, they kept moving forward. 

"Wounded, Asriel stumbled home," a Final Froggit continued the story. 

"He entered the castle and collapsed," another said.

"His dust spread across the garden."

Robin put their face in their hands; they kept moving forward only for their sibling's benefits. It had been hard to keep going the entire journey; but now, they were being met with a familiar sadness that only magnified the pain they'd been feeling the entire time. A pain that reminded them how much suffering there was in the world and that, no matter where you were, you couldn't escape the tragedy of loss. Because all stories had an end, even if they didn't want to listen to them.

"The kingdom fell into dispair," the first of three Whimsalots spoke. 

"The king and queen had lost two children in one night..."

"The humans had once again taken everything from us..."

Hop pressed their thumb against their nose, trying to suppress the crying they felt starting in their sinuses. 

"The king decided it was time to end our suffering," an Astigmatism said.

"Every human who falls down here must die," added another. 

"With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever." 

And finally, the dread of the journey caught up with Frisk. They didn't want to keep going if it meant meeting their death, but they didn't want to keep going if it meant the death of another either. 

"It's not long now," Loox said, and then the other monsters surrounding them chimed in with excited voices full of anticipation. 

"King Asgore will let us go."

"King Asgore will give us hope."

"King Asgore will save us all."

The group hurried away from the monsters, unable to share in their rejoicing. They were stopped again by Pyrope, who was staring confusedly at the humans. 

"You should be smiling, too," Pyrope said.

"Aren't you excited?" a Vulkin asked. 

"Aren't you happy?" another Vulkin asked. 

Robin bit their lip and ushered their family up to a bend in the road, trying to get themself and their siblings away from the monsters. They made it up to the exit before they were stopped again, this time by a simple Froggit.

"You're going to be free," the monster stated, as if stating the obvious.

With a final shove, Robin pushed their siblings out of the long gray hallway and into the next area. Tears streaked down all of their faces, each human's chest aching in response to their conflicting emotions. 

"I don't understand," Laurel reached up under their glasses to wipe their tears away. "Why would they think we'd be happy?"

"They still think we're monsters," Twain figured. 

"Maybe we are," Bell muttered, rubbing their arm and looking away. "The humans killed their son. More than that, they locked the monsters down here in the first place. Humans have caused them a lot of unhappiness. If we're humans, doesn't that make us just as bad?"

"No," Hop shook their head, not letting the idea stand for one second. "Just because you're part of a group that's done a lot of bad, doesn't mean you're bad too. The only thing that matters is who you decide you are. And what you decide to do."

Bell blinked at their younger sibling, then laughed. "How come you're so smart?" 

"Because I made up my mind to be," Hop smiled, holding a hand out to Bell. "Now, let's go. You still have a story, Bell. It won't end here."

Taking Hop's hand, Bell started to walk forwards. The rest of the humans followed, noticing the room they'd entered for the first time. The room was a long marble hall, lined with tall columns and punctuated with wide steepled windows. The entire space was swathed in golden light, and the humans blinked back tears as they wondered if they were seeing the sun again after so long. 

Continuing down the hall, the seven humans felt as if something should have been happening. But maybe, no one but them was going to know about them going off to battle Asgore. No one was going to tell them what any of this was supposed to mean. Maybe stuff like this just happened and they didn't get anything more than an ending. 

But then, a familiar silhouette appeared between the switches of light as they passed between the pillars. The humans didn't know whether to feel relief or dread. Because, stepping into view, was the one monster who had cared little to nothing about their journey. Cared little to nothing about them being human or cared about them at all without the promise he had made to Toriel. The one monster who had been with the kids since the beginning of their journey. 

Stepping into view, was sans.  


	23. The Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You felt your sans crawling on your back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short-but-important chapter.

Bells chimed ominously in the distance, somewhere off where no one had even an inkling what was happening right then and there. The seven humans stood face-to-face with sans, breathlessly waiting for him to say something. 

"So you finally made it," sans spoke, paint thinner dripping off the sound of his voice. "The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together...You will determine the future of this world."

The lights in sans' eye sockets were out, but Frisk could swear they felt him staring directly at them as he spoke. 

"That's then," sans continued. "Now. You all will be judged. You will be judged for your every action. You will be judged for every EXP you have earned." 

"What's EXP?" Laurel asked, hand itching for their notebook but not daring to move.

"It's an acronym," sans explained. "It stands for 'execution points.' A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases. When your EXP increases, your LOVE increases."

The kids all recalled LOVE. It was something old, a bad memory they'd pressed away. A memory of a talking flower abusing their naivety.

"LOVE, too, is an acronym," sans continued. "It stands for 'Level of Violence.' A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others."

Then, sans looked up. His eyelights were back and when he spoke, not a trace of paint thinner remained in his voice. Taking a deep breath, sans grinned up at the kids.

"...but you kids..." sans shook his head slowly. "none of you ever gained any LOVE."

The humans smiled, their frames relaxing at the return of sans' regular self. 

"'course, that doesn't mean you guys are completely innocent or naive," sans continued. "just that you all managed to keep a certain tenderness in your hearts. no matter the struggles or hardships you faced...you all strived to do the right thing. you refused to hurt anyone. even when you ran away, you did it with a smile. you guys never gained LOVE, but you gained love. does that make sense? maybe not."

The kids laughed, a few of them brushing tears away and the others letting them fall freely down their faces. All of them were caught in a place between happiness and dread, and were surprised to find how strongly they could feel both.

"....now. you're about to face the greatest challenge of your journey," sans said, voice turning a touch more serious. "your actions here...will determine the fate of the entire world. if you refuse to fight...asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. but if you kill asgore and go home...monsters will remain trapped underground."

Looking between each other, the siblings all seemed to agree that both of those options were terrible endings. 

"What should we do sans?" Laurel asked, shocking all of their siblings with how they were reaching out to sans.

"what will you do?" sans echoed. Taking a deep breath, sans looked down. "well, if were you, i would have thrown in the towel by now. but you kids didn't get this far by giving up, did you?"

The kids looked away and avoided eye contact, suddenly remembering all of the times they had wanted to give up and go home. They didn't think sans knew how much all of them wanted to stop trying; but when he spoke again, the conviction in his voice proved their self-doubts wrong. 

"that's right," sans said, looking up at Robin. "you? think back to all of the times you wanted to leave but didn't. all of the times you protected your family and stopped yourself from making the wrong decision just by pausing to figure out a better solution. you wait for an opportunity and then make sharp decisions. you hang onto the hope that after all of this pain, there can be a happy ending." 

Robin didn't know how to respond, looking down at their bare feet and blushing. 

"you?" sans turned to Alex next. "you like to rush through obstacles fists-first, right?"

Alex laughed at that, nodding in agreement. 

"right," sans said. "you don't hesitate to help others or to step in when things are getting out of hand. and, despite your strength, you've kept the courage to spare lives a strong resolution at the forefront of your thoughts. even more so, you have the courage to face the scariest part of anyone's life. you face your own emotions and admit when you're wrong." 

"and you," sans said to Bell. "your original style gets you through battles, but it's your overwhelming sincerity that makes others trust and admire you. you don't sugarcoat things, you don't lie to others or yourself; but you don't let the realities of the dangers you face ever deter you from working towards your goal."

"Well, I try," Bell winked, running a hand through their hair. 

"laurel," sans said, turning to their biggest critic. "you like to get to the bottom of things, and you don't stop trying until you get some sort of answer. even when you feel trapped, you take notes and achieve an end. your siblings look up to you for solutions to problems no one else can fix, and expect you to anticipate things no one else catches onto." 

Laurel blushed, straightening their glasses and pursing their lips. 

sans turned to Twain and looked fondly at the younger kid. "getting through without hurting anyone is one thing, kid; but you? you got through not only without hurting anyone, but with your never ceasing care for others' thoughts and emotions. where others begrudgingly resign themselves to agree to disagree, you always seek to understand. you have a soft heart, twain, keep it that way. it will lead you to a delicious victory."

Twain smiled, hands clutching around the handle of their frypan. 

"and you?" sans turned to Hop, chuckling as the young kid grinned at him. "your sure-fire accuracy put an end to a lot of the mayhem that goes on in this world. no matter the situation, you maintained a sense of what was right and wrong. you know when a course of action should take place, even when it's not necessarily the ending you want. remember that, okay? realizing what's fair and accepting it...that's a good way to be."

"Okay, sans!" Hop gave the skeleton a thumbs up. "I'll do my best!!" 

"finally, last but not least, frisk," sans said, turning to the youngest kid. "try as you might, you continue to be yourself, huh? that's how you keep moving forward, kid, don't try to fight it. look around at all of the people who love you for exactly who you are. you changed a lot just by falling down here. question your decisions, but don't ever doubt one once you've decided to go through with it." 

Frisk nodded. 

"so, look, you can do this, okay?" sans addressed all of the kids again. "you guys all have something called 'determination.' so as long as you hold on...so as long as you work together...so as long as you do what's in your hearts....i believe you can do the right thing."

sans took another deep breath, looking at each individual face of the seven humans. 

"alright," he sighed. "we're all counting on you, kids. good luck."  

sans vanished from sight. Robin looked back over their shoulder at the others and began to walk forward out of the Hall. They strode down another cold gray hallway until they came to a sign that read “Throne Room” next to a tall, looming doorway.

“Stay behind me,” Robin ordered; gently pushing back Laurel, who was eagerly stepping forward with their notebook in hand.

“The King’s really in there?” Hop asked, posing dramatically with their gun; a new trait they'd picked up from battling Mettaton.

“That’s what his note said,” Bell took a deep breath, their hand clasped in Laurel’s.

“Maybe he’ll be as nice as everyone’s been saying,” Twain looked up at Robin from where they stood at their side. "Maybe he really won't want to kill us."

Robin looked away, apprehensive to put any faith in King Asgore. But still, they wanted to believe in the good in others as much as Twain. So, they looked down at their younger sibling and smiled.

“Maybe,” They nodded, drawing their shoulders back. “Okay, everyone, ready?”

“Yeah, let’s do this!!!” Alex exclaimed, pumping their fist in the air. "I mean...now or never, right?" 

"Right," Robin nodded, wincing as they looked into the darkened doorway. Still, they struggled against their fear and wrestled it down inside of them; wanting to stay strong for their family. They had to believe that, despite how difficult this next phase of the journey, they could all find a happy ending. 

As they went to take a step forward, Robin felt a heavy tug on their robe. Looking back, Robin almost laughed at what the added weight was. Each of their siblings, even Alex, had reached out and grabbed a hold of their robe on instinct. Knowing that they had their sibling's trust, gave Robin the strength they need to take that next step. Smiling to themself, they faced forward again.

"Let's go!" Robin said, stepping through the doorway to the Throne Room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo!! It's time to meet the King of All Monsters!!


	24. Berguntrückung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This might hurt a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this was the first chapter I ever wrote for this fic! It was so long ago I was referring to the characters as their virtues because they didn't have their names yet. Obviously, it's been revised a lot since then. Never thought I'd ever actually write everything leading up to this.
> 
> PSA: This chapter is long so idk you might want to wait until you have time to read it all the way through...

Walking through the doorway Robin stifled a gasp at the scenery before them. Golden flowers bloomed everywhere, sunlight beamed through the ceiling, and fresh air filtered in with the lilting notes of birdsong. They would have smiled, if it weren’t for the hulking figure standing in the middle of the room with his back to them.

King Asgore seemed to be hunched over something, bustling away at whatever task he had at hand. All kinds of horrific what-ifs swam through the humans’ minds as they walked forward. It was slow going, what with the younger kids all clinging onto Robin at the same time; but the group undoubtedly, inevitably was moving forward.

A few feet away from Asgore, Robin stopped abruptly. The king had stirred, frightening them to a standstill. All of the kids felt their heartbeats jump as the King of All Monsters spoke out to them.

“Oh? Is someone there?” he asked. His booming voice somehow managing to sound gentle and kind, despite its volume. “Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers.”

Robin took an involuntary step back as Asgore finished sprinkling the flowers at his feet. Whatever the humans had imagined Asgore doing when his back was turned, it hadn’t involved him watering flowers.  

Robin felt their hands begin to shake; and then, they felt Alex’s hand clap to their shoulder and give them a reassuring squeeze.

“Here we are!” The King said cheerfully, setting down his watering can and turning to face the others. “Howdy! How can I…”

His eyes snagged on Robin’s robe for a moment, a shocked flash of hope coming and going across his face in an instant. Then, he realized what was finally happening and backed away in shock.

“Oh.” Was all he could manage as he turned to the side and looked away from the children before him for a moment. Gathering himself up again, he turned back to the group of huddled humans. “I so badly want to say, ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ But...You know how it is.”

Robin felt their cheeks burn with sudden anger towards the King, but remained silent and still. _I should at least allow him to speak,_ they thought, taking a deep breath to steady the rage in their heart at his complacency.

“Nice day today, huh?” Asgore continued, pacing nervously to the edges of the Throne Room. “Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...Perfect weather for a game of catch.”

Frisk locked eyes with the King from where they were peeking out behind Robin’s skirts; his gentle grin faltered when he met the youngest child’s gaze.

“...” Asgore looked down at Robin, sadness becoming a composite permanence on his face. The oldest human bit their lip and trembled as they locked eyes with the king, pressing their siblings even closer behind them.

“You know what we must do. When you are ready, come into the next room.”

With that, Asgore turned around and strode from the room; his shoulders drooping as he entered the next hall.

Robin stood for a moment, contemplating their next course of action. Looking over their shoulder, they saw the expectant faces of their younger siblings look up to them. Fear seized their heart as they realized what they wanted to do. Pinching the bridge of their nose, they shuddered against their own desire to protect their family. They wished they could make the selfish decision, but forced themself to be selfless. No matter where that decision would lead them.

“I want you all to wait here,” They said at last. “I’m going in alone.”

The others flew into an uproar, immediately and vehemently rebuking their sibling for even suggesting such a notion.

“No way, Rob, we’re with you to the end!” Alex protested.

Bell nodded. “Yeah, you can’t just expect us to stand here while you-”

“Please,” Robin closed their eyes and put their face in their hands. “I promised Toriel I would protect you all. I have to try to make this right on my own, without putting you in danger again.”

“But, Robin…” Twain faltered, their eyes filling with tears.

Robin knelt down and opened their arms. Twain crashed against their chest, tightly wrapping their arms around Robin’s neck. Hop immediately came crashing into the hug, trying to hug both Robin and Twain with their short arms. Frisk came in under Hop, snuggling in between all three of them. Bell was the next to drop to their knees, draping their arms across the huddled group. Laurel squeezed their slight frame in next to Bell, their glasses fogging up from tears.

Alex stood off to the side, arms crossed. When the others finally stood and separated, Robin turned to face them.

“Alex, please,” Robin pleaded, arms still around Twain who refused to let go of their waist. “I know you don’t want me to go in alone, but please understand why I’m doing this. I have to try to stop him on my own. I couldn’t bear facing Mom again if one of you were to die instead of me. I don’t-I don’t want that.”

Alex took a deep breath and averted their eyes, tears unwillingly edging in at the corners.

“This is too dangerous, Robin!” Alex seethed, hands balling into fists. “I won’t let you do this to yourself. Your life is not a shield for us to hide behind.”

“But it is my life,” Robin argued. “And I can do what I want with it. I’m the oldest, and I’m telling you all to stay here and let me handle this!”

“That’s not fair, Robin!” Hop said.

“No, it’s not,” Robin agreed. “But, please, I need you all to trust me on this.”

A long silence followed, even the siblings’ breaths were hushed. Looking at their older sibling, Alex realized they weren’t going to back down. Once Robin had made up their mind to do something, there was very little to be done to change their mind.

“Just...Be careful,” Alex said. “Because we don’t want to go back to Mom without you either.”

“You’re not going to stop me?” Robin asked, a little shocked.

“I guess I see where you’re coming from,” Alex sighed, crossing their arms. “Doesn’t mean I like it. But, no, I won’t stop you.”

“Thanks,” Robin smiled. “I promise I’ll try. I know I haven’t been the most daring fighter on our journey, but I think...if I do it for you all...I could be brave, too.”

“You already are,” Alex protested, coming forward and hugging their older sibling at last, Twain snuggled in between them. “Come back to us, okay? We’ll get past the Barrier together. As a family. Or not at all.”

“Okay,” Robin nodded, attempting to step out of Twain’s embrace. “Sweetheart, I have to go. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

Twain whimpered but finally let go of Robin’s waist. Backing away, they tried to smile at their sibling but ended up crying even harder than before. Alex stepped up and wrapped Twain in a tight hug.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay. You’ll see them again,” Alex said. “You don’t think they’re gonna let me be in charge, do you? No way.”

Robin mouthed a thank you to Alex and walked to the doorway at the back of the Throne Room. “Alex, if anything does happen…” They paused, a sad smile creeping onto their face. “...Ha…”

“What?” Alex furrowed their brow.

“I never thought of what to do should I fail,” Robin looked down at the toy knife in their hands. They thought to ask Frisk for the dagger they’d found, but thought better of it after a moment. _They’ll need it if you lose._

“Then I guess you’ll just have to win,” Alex said.

Robin turned around to look at their family one last time before they left. “I love you all very much,” they said softly, closing their eyes and thinking of their mother. “Be good, alright?”

They turned and walked out of the room, a chorus of 'I love you's heralding their exit.

* * *

Robin stepped through to the next room: a dark, dank hallway. It felt familiar to them, a distant memory left untouched for far too long until it was nothing but a vague inclination that something like this had happened before. Asgore stood near the edge of the next turn, looking down at Robin.

“Just one at a time, then?” Asgore asked, twiddling his fingers.

“No. Just one.” Robin said, heart hammering away in their chest. “I won’t give you the chance to hurt my family.”

“Ha…” Asgore smiled sadly. “Tell me, child, where did you get that robe?”

“Toriel gave it to me,” Robin drew themselves up, prouder than ever to be wearing the garment Toriel had given them their last birthday. “And-And I know all about you and her so don’t even try to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Asgore smiled. “It’s funny, you remind me of her in some ways…”

“Like mother, like child. I suppose,” Robin said. Asgore flinched at the words, a memory passing before his eyes.

“How tense…” Asgore remarked, glancing to the side. “Just think of it like...A visit to the dentist.”

Robin couldn’t bare to look at the King’s sad face so looked down to their feet. “Is that what you tell yourself?”

“This is my duty,” Asgore said simply before turning and walking down the rest of the hallway.

Robin followed, stopping beside the King as he paused at yet another doorway.

“Are you ready?” he asked, glancing at Robin through the corner of his eye. “If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either.”

The King stepped through the doorway, vanishing once more. Robin looked back at the doorway that lead to the Throne Room and considered running back to the others one last time, but decided against it. _You’ll only scare them if you run back crying now._ Robin thought, but couldn’t deny their own fear as they stepped through the doorway.

The next room was a blindingly bright hallway that seemed to breathe with pulses of shadow. Asgore stood with his back to Robin; the breeze from the surface world making his cloak flutter out behind him, revealing a glint of black armor. Robin kept looking down at their bare, blistered feet and plastic knife; they felt their legs shake but remained standing.

“This is the barrier,” Asgore said. “This is what keeps us all trapped underground.

He paused, a shudder of breath passing between his lips.

“If...If by chance you have any unfinished business...Please do what you must.”

“No,” Robin snapped. “It’s time for both of us to stop hiding. Face me now.”

“...I see…” Asgore nodded. “This is it, then.”

Asgore finally turned around, smiling at Robin. “Ready?” he asked. There was a phasing noise and then seven empty cylinders sprung up from the floor.

Robin looked down at the cylinders and knew that if they died, that was where their soul would end up. Thinking of everyone who was waiting for them to come back alive, they looked up and locked eyes with Asgore.

“Ready.” They said.

Asgore took a deep breath and paused for a moment before looking up at Robin.

“Human. It was nice to meet you,” he smiled. “Goodbye.”

Throwing his cloak back, Asgore revealed a menacing red trident. With a wave and jab of the weapon, he closed the exit behind Robin. They couldn’t run now. Panic washed over them and they immediately tried to spare Asgore. But as they reached out to give Asgore mercy, the king struck out with his trident once again. The red blade ran through Robin, and they felt their heart skip a beat. To their shock, the stabbing hadn’t harmed them. However, when they went to try and spare Asgore, they found the ability had been nullified.

 _You have to fight._ Robin told themselves, swallowing the panic climbing in their throat. Clenching their toy knife in hand, they gave it a few swings. But they were out of practice and missed their mark, unable to land a blow on Asgore.

Asgore swung his spear at them, bringing a hail of fire down on them. Fortunately, they were familiar with the attack from training with Toriel and were able to dodge somewhat. A few of the flames scorched their shoulder, taking a quarter of their HP. They didn’t bother searching their pockets for health items, having given them all to their younger siblings.

 _You idiot._ They chided themselves, using harsh words that didn’t feel like theirs. _Idiot. See what caring about other people does to you?_

Still, they tried to land an attack on Asgore. This time was better; they managed to hit Asgore with the toy knife, but the damage was minimal. Columns of flames burst up on either side of Robin and fell from above in criss-crossing patterns. They tried their best to dodge but was singed on all sides, the hem of their robe burning to black ash.

When the attack was over, they only had a fraction of their HP left. Breathing heavily, they clambered to their feet. They considered using what they were sure was to be their last move to beg for mercy, but decided against it. They could at least make one more hit. One last way to help their siblings. Swinging the toy knife, they landed another blow to Asgore’s chest, bringing his HP down a little more than the last time. Robin smiled at the progress they’d made and then waited for Asgore’s next attack.

The King’s eyes flashed an orange and blue sequence and Robin barely had time to register what this meant before his trident came swinging down at them, the orange blade slamming against their motionless body. The weapon pierced through them as if they were made out of paper, tearing the embroidered emblem they had been so proud to wear clean through. Clutching their chest, Robin dropped to one knee before the King.

“So, this is where it ends, huh?” They tried to laugh but ended up coughing up blood. Their ribbon had come undone and their hair flowed freely in the breeze of the barrier. They looked up to Asgore with pleading eyes. “Would you...wait a moment and listen to me?”

Asgore’s hands trembled as he gazed down at the dying human, making no move to stop them from speaking.

“Please...Take my soul and use it to cross the barrier...But let the others live…” They begged, tears slipping down their cheeks. “There's a way to end this peacefully if you would just...go get six souls from humans who have already passed on...Toriel...she wouldn’t wanted this…”

They searched Asgore’s face for a change of heart, but saw no such evidence. Bowing their head, they shuddered a heavy breath.

“It is how it is, I suppose. Too late to go back now,” They murmured. “I hope it’s worth it.”

Robin collapsed to the ground. Their chest heaved with their last breaths, blood pooling underneath them as they curled in on their side.

“How pathetic...I couldn’t even do the one thing she asked of me...” Their lip trembled, they were too weak to fight back their tears any longer. “I-I’m sorry...I failed you, M-Mother…”

Their hand went slack, dropping to the ground and exposing the worst of their wounds. Asgore fell to his knees by the dead child, tears in his eyes. Taking one of the cylinders, he coaxed Robin’s soul from their body and trapped the aqua colored soul in the clear tube. Setting the soul aside, Asgore reached out and closed Robin’s eyes.

“She would have been proud of you,” Asgore spoke at last.

* * *

Alex paced back and forth across the throne room, pounding their gloved fist into their ungloved one as if preparing for a fight. The other children were scattered about the room, anxiously awaiting Robin’s return.

“He sounds like he doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” Twain said from where they were sitting in a patch of flowers. “Maybe once he started fighting Robin, he realized he didn’t want to do this anymore and they’re on their way back right now.”

“Let’s hope so,” Laurel said, adjusting their glasses. “It would be near impossible for Robin to beat Asgore with just a plastic knife and a-”

“Laurel, shh,” Bell shook their head with a pointed glance at the younger kids.  

“Oh!” Laurel clapped a hand to their mouth. “I-I’m sure you’re right, Twain. The King does seem really nice, I’m sure he wouldn’t-”

“I hear footsteps!” Alex spoke up and ceased pacing. The other children scrambled from their spots in the room and gathered by Alex. The group waited in suspense as the footsteps drew closer and closer.

“Those sound too heavy to be Robin’s footsteps,” Bell whispered to Laurel, who nodded grimly in response.

Alex looked up as Asgore’s hulking figure stepped through the doorway. His eyes were downcast and his shoulders sagged as he moved towards the remaining humans.

“Where’s our sibling, murderer!?” Alex snarled, holding their fists in front of them.

Asgore took a step back and drew a deep breath. When he spoke, Alex could hear that he was trying not to cry. Alex looked up in astonishment.

“Your sibling has died,” Asgore said. “They fought valiantly, you should be proud.”

Behind them, Alex could hear their younger siblings start to break down into tears; but they held their own sobs back, refusing to cry in front of King Asgore.

“Yeah, well, forgive me if I don’t jump up cheering. I’d rather have them here,” Alex glowered at the king. “ _You_ should have died instead.”

Asgore looked away, too ashamed to meet the children’s eyes. “Your sibling had a final request. They asked me to spare you six and take their soul to cross the barrier and ask the humans for help. However, I am afraid I cannot do this.”

“Why not!?” Bell glared at Asgore, voice heavy with sobs.

“I swore an oath to my people that I would destroy every human who fell down here and then use the power of seven souls to shatter the barrier and then destroy humankind,” Asgore bowed his head. “You understand, I cannot allow you to live.”

“But that’s not fair! We haven’t done anything to you!” Hop shouted. “You’re the king! You have the power to change what happens down here.”

“It is not so simple as it seems, young one,” Asgore sighed.

“It can be,” Laurel added quietly.

“No, it cannot,” Asgore shook his head, giving his final opinion on the matter. “Whenever you children are ready, I will be waiting at the barrier. Take your time. I understand if you are frightened.”

With a turn and a swish of his purple cloak, Asgore vanished through the doorway once again.

Alex knelt in the field of golden flowers; their face was twisted from holding back tears, but they drew a deep breath and stared down the awaiting doorway.

“I could never be frightened of a coward like that,” they said at last. “If he wants to kill me, I say just let him try. I won’t let Robin die in vain.”

“Me either,” Bell leapt forward. “I’m going with you.”

“If Bell’s going, I’m going,” Laurel rushed forward and hooked their arm in Bell’s.

“I’m coming too!” Twain chorused.

“Me too!” Hop nodded, aiming their pistol toward the sky.

Frisk ran up next to Hop and punched their fist in the air like Alex always did, showing they wanted to come too.

“Alright, look,” Alex said. “You can come with me; but I want you to stay out of the fight, okay? I’m the oldest so it’s my job to protect you all now that Robin’s…” Alex faltered for a minute and kicked at the ground, knocking up a flurry of petals. “Just stay out of it, alright? Stay behind me.”

“For Robin!” Bell shouted, jumping into the air.

“For Robin!” the others agreed, waving their hands and jumping up and down.

“Let’s go!” Alex waved the group on, leading them out of the Throne Room.

The six humans stormed down the hallway to the entrance of the Barrier. One after another, they filed through the doorway. Frisk was the last to go; but as they went to follow Hop, a solid slamming of black shadowy wall stopped them. Something, or someone, didn’t want them going in there.

Frisk was alone on the other side of the Barrier.

* * *

Alex forged through the drab hallway that led to the barrier with a ferocious scowl on their face. They refused to let Asgore see them cry, no matter how much they wanted to. They were either going to win or die trying; and even though that statement was inevitably true no matter how Alex felt, they were glad it was at least a reality they were willing to accept.

Reaching the doorway to the barrier, Alex looked from side to side at their siblings and nodded once before leading the group in.

“Hey, Ass-gore!” Alex shouted, stomping into the heaving incoherence of the barrier. “I’ve got your second soul right here! Turn around and fight me for it.”

Asgore turned around holding a glass cylinder in his hands. Laurel was the first to recognize what the floating aqua heart in the container was and clapped their hands to their mouth in shock.

“Is that...Robin?” Twain’s huge eyes peered over Bell’s shoulder.

Alex’s scowl wavered a bit at the sight of their sibling and best friend’s soul floating before them, but regained their glare after a moment. “Put that down and fight me yourself, you coward.”

“Am I to fight all five of you at once?” Asgore looked at the children all huddled together and shuddered at the thought of killing them all.

“Five?” Bell raised an eyebrow. “You only killed one of us, remember?”

“Bell…” Hop’s little voice piped up. “Frisk’s not here.”

“Huh!?” Bell whipped around.

“They must still be out in the hallway,” Hop figured. “I’ll go get th-”

But when Hop tried to leave the room, the doorway behind them became a solid sheet of murky shadow and they couldn’t get out.

“What gives?” Bell turned on Asgore.

“I am...not sure,” Asgore said, looking genuinely confused. “It looks as if none of us are leaving here until this battle is finished.”

“Hold on,” Alex said. “This fight is between you and me. Don’t you touch my family.”

“You would sacrifice yourself for your loved ones as well? You’re very brave to face me alone, especially after knowing how your sibling met their end,” Asgore said.

“Eh, you’re not so tough,” Alex glared at Asgore. “And I’m not so brave, I’m just really pissed off. Now, fight me, you coward!”

“Very well, human. It was nice to meet you. Goodbye,” Asgore looked down and, with a swipe of his spear, let the battle begin.

Alex came out swinging right off the bat, not bothering to try and spare Asgore or talk him down. Their hits came through in fine style, decreasing a good bit of Asgore’s HP. They were feeling pretty confident up until Asgore’s first flame attack rained down from the ceiling. Flames singed the edges of their bandana and scorched patches of their exposed skin. One blow landed Alex straight in the chest, knocking them to their feet.

Staggering upright, Alex could hear muffled shouts from their siblings behind them. They coughed against the smoke coming off of their clothing and threw several more punches. However, their aim was less steady this round and didn’t inflict as much damage as before. Asgore’s spear came slamming down, rapidly changing from orange to blue. Alex hadn’t noticed the sequence flashing in Asgore’s eyes and got struck from moving when the blade was blue. Thankfully, Asgore’s turn ended before any further damage could be inflicted.

Alex lay panting for a moment, considering their options for a change. They thought about using this turn to eat something since their HP was about halfway down at that point. They nixed the idea of attempting to talk to Asgore before even really thinking about it. In the end, they put up their fists and struck some more punches; Asgore’s health took a relatively big hit and Alex smiled. The victory was short lived when another showering of flames hit their side, almost burning the skin off of their ribs. Alex gasped, managing to stumble their way out of the rest of the attack.

Wincing at the blistering pain in their side, Alex decided to take this turn to eat something. Sifting through their pockets, all they found was the handful of Temmie flakes. They’d traded Hop a crab apple for the pathetic paper shreds back in Waterfall when the younger child had spent all of their gold on the flakes and came crying to Alex about it. Silently cursing themself, Alex shoved the Temmie flakes into their mouth and felt minimally better.

Asgore struck out at Alex with another flame attack. Alex tried to dodge but couldn’t fight the overwhelming dizziness pounding their skull. Several attacks landed them right in the chest, knocking them on their back and shattering their HP. Miraculously, they made it to the end of Asgore’s attack with 1 HP left to spare.

Alex’s breaths came out ragged and heavy, peppered with worn out coughing. Clutching their side, Alex looked up at Asgore from where they’d collapsed to the ground. There was a dull, distant clamoring behind them as their siblings all tried to rush into the battle to help; Alex looked over their shoulder and grinned at the vague silhouettes of their family. Turning back to Asgore, Alex struggled to their feet and jabbed a finger at the monster king.

“Hah! That’s all you got!?” Alex laughed, fighting away the urge to crumple in pain on the ground and just let Asgore kill them. “They can still win this. Even without me, they’ll beat you. So, go ahead and do your worst, coward!”

Asgore’s spear raised off the ground once more, his eyes flashing rapidly between orange and blue. Bringing the spear down, Alex attempted to dodge best they could even though they were tired and knew they couldn’t win. The spear turned blue and thwacked against Alex’s swaying form, knocking them flat on their back. Blood spurted from their charred chest; the shadowy battledome finally lifted and the other kids came rushing to Alex’s side in an instant.

Bell reached down and cradled Alex’s head in their arms. Alex looked up at the distraught faces of their siblings; and all they felt was fear of dying, of not being with their family anymore. Despite everything, however, Alex gave the kids their best winning grin and raised their fist to the sky one last time before it fell slack to their side forever.

The kids fell apart at the death of another sibling, feeling lost without an older person to guide them through this story they’d found themselves in. Bell pressed their forehead against Alex’s and wept bitterly onto their ash streaked face. Asgore moved in on the scene with another cylinder and the children watched helplessly as the bright orange soul floated from Alex’s chest and into the container.

Settling Alex’s body down on the floor of the barrier, Bell stood up and stared Asgore straight in the eye. There came a phasing noise and Bell looked down just in time to see Alex’s body fall through the floor. The kids gasped and backed away, not sure what to make of it.

“Where’d they go!?” Laurel demanded at last.

“There is a final resting place prepared for all of you below the barrier,” Asgore said simply. “Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

“Who’s sacrificing anything!?” Bell spat. Looking to their left, they held out their hand to Laurel. Laurel clasped their best friend’s hand in their own and stood by their side. “We’re taking you down.”

“Together,” Laurel nodded.

“Or not at all,” Bell choked on the phrase Alex had loved to use, but straightened their shoulders and locked eyes with Asgore. “Alright, _your majesty_ , show us what you got.”

The shadowy battledome went up once more, blocking out Twain and Hop and closing in Bell and Laurel. Bell shot right out of the gate, swinging their legs in a frenzy of kicks and jabs. The attacks landed and brought Asgore’s already lowered HP down to about half-full.

Asgore brought down a hail of flames onto the two children. Laurel grabbed Bell’s waist and followed their lead as they leapt and danced out of the flames’ cascading pattern. The two came away with minimal damage done and grinned at each other.

While Bell kicked out some more attacks, Laurel scribbled down notes on Asgore’s fighting patterns. When the next flame attack burst up on either side, the two stood back-to-back and came apart as flames began falling from above. One flame caught on Bell’s tutu, causing the better part of it to smolder into ash. Another flame hit Laurel’s notebook and the cluster of paper quickly incended. Laurel dropped the item to avoid getting burned, but felt a pang of loss as the notebook furled away before their eyes.

Laurel looked to Bell and saw them dabbing at a burn on their upper thigh from where their tutu had caught on fire. The skin of their leg was charred and sweltering with pus; Laurel could hardly bear to look at the grotesque wound.

“You’ve gotta use this turn to eat something,” Laurel said, straightening their glasses. “I’ll attack.”

“You don’t have a weapon!” Bell said.

“Then I’ll…” Laurel looked to either side of them and came up with nothing. “I’ll talk to him.”

“You think that’ll work!?” Bell blanched.

“It’s worth a shot,” Laurel shrugged.

“Alright,” Bell looked warily at Asgore. “If you’re sure.”

Laurel nodded and turned to face Asgore; Bell dug into their pocket and took out a starfait they’d gotten at MTT Resort. Knocking back the sweet desert in one gulp, Bell felt their leg heal a little bit and they could move it properly again.

“Asgore!” Laurel shouted when they saw that Bell was healed. “You don’t have to do this! Enough people have died! We can figure this out together! Please, stop!!”

Asgore’s hands trembled, but he made no move to end the battle. His eyes lit up blue and orange again and Laurel memorized the rapidly changing colors as fast as they could. As the spear came crashing down, Laurel called out the colors to Bell.

“Blue!”

Bell stood still and so did Laurel. No damage.

“Orange!”

Bell moved and spared themself the damage. Laurel forgot to move and got slashed in the back by Asgore’s spear. Their glasses knocked off their face.

“Orange again!” Laurel called as they scrambled to get their glasses. The movement spared them further damage, and Bell had easily glided under the swishing spear. As Laurel fumbled their glasses on, they forgot to call out the next color and turned around to a blue spear smacking them upside the face.

“Laurel!” Bell called out.

“Don’t move!” Laurel shouted before Bell could run towards them. Biting their lip, Bell struggled to stay still until the spear had phased through them. Finally, Asgore’s turn ended and Bell ran to their friend.

“Are you alright!?” Bell cried. “God, Laurel, your face!”

Laurel felt their cheek where Asgore’s spear had hit them, a bloody gash had split open over half of their face.

“Dammit,” Laurel muttered. “It’s alright, we can still do this! I won’t give up if you won’t.”

“You know I won’t,” Bell nodded.

“So, okay, I’m gonna try and talk to Asgore some more,” Laurel panted. “I think I can get through to him if I keep trying.”

“No, you’ve gotta eat something,” Bell shook their friend by the shoulders. “With those wounds, you’re not gonna make it through the next attack!”

“Bell, I’m not going to die,” Laurel said, stating it as a fact. “But if we don’t change Asgore’s mind, we’re going to have to kill him.”

“You know we can’t get across the barrier without a monster soul,” Bell whispered, glancing nervously at the King of All Monsters out of the corner of their eye. “Why bother talking to him if we just have to kill him anyways!?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Laurel said. “Toriel wouldn’t want us to kill him.”

“She hates that guy!” Bell argued.

“That doesn’t mean she would kill him!” Laurel shouted.

Bell crossed their arms and thought for a moment. Giving a groan, they realized Laurel was right and conceded to their friend’s wishes.

“Okay, fine,” Bell said. “Talk to him. But I’m still attacking.”

“Fine,” Laurel said, clambering to their feet.

“Get on my back,” Bell turned around. Laurel wrapped their legs around Bell’s middle and hooked their arms around their neck. “Ready!?”

“Let’s do this!” Laurel shouted.

Bell pirouetted into action, kicking out attacks in their usual fashion. Laurel hung on to their back and looked up to the king through the cloudiness of their glasses.

“Asgore!” Laurel called out. “Stop fighting! We don’t want to kill you! Toriel wouldn’t have wanted this! Let’s figure this out together!!”

Asgore looked up briefly, making eye contact with Laurel. The old monster looked sad, but again made no move to end the battle. He raised his hands for his next attack.

Flames spun around Bell and Laurel. Bell twirled out of the circle of fire through a gap in the side; although slowed by Laurel’s added weight, they managed to avoid most of the flames. A couple attacks clipped Bell on the elbow, but nothing too severe. Towards the end of the turn however, a flame clubbed Laurel on the shoulder and knocked them off of Bell’s back. The turn ended and Laurel collapsed to the ground, chest heaving with the effort it took just to keep breathing.

“Laurel, you have to eat something,” Bell pleaded, tears running down their face.

“One more time,” Laurel coughed, tasting their own blood. “I’ll talk to him one more time. He’ll change his mind, I know it.”

“No, I won’t let you!” Bell shook their head. “You’re the smartest person I know, Laurel; how can you be so stupid!? If you don’t boost your HP, you’re going to die the second he attacks next!”

“Won’t die…” Laurel shook their head, eyes slowly beginning to close. Half a smile cracked on their face as they glanced up at Bell. “You need to have a little more faith, Bell.”

Bell turned away and pounded their fists to the ground. “Fine, Laurel, have it your way. Just...Just stay behind me, okay?”

“Okay…” Laurel nodded weakly. “Help me up?”

Bell sighed and held a hand out to their best friend. Laurel staggered to their feet and brushed some of the ash and charred bits from their sweater.

“Ready?” Laurel held their hand up for a high-five.

“Hell no,” Bell clapped their hand against Laurel’s and let out a big breath. “Let’s do this.”

Bell sprung into action once again, slamming their feet out at Asgore with as much precision as they could muster. Laurel squinted up at the king’s face one more time; he looked miserable and kind and old and sad, and Laurel put all of their hope that he would change his mind into their words as they called out to him for a third time.

“Asgore!” Laurel yelled. “Please, I know you don’t want this! I know you’re scared and feel like you have to keep your promise to the Underground, but this is destroying who you are! Stop fighting and listen! We want to help you!”

Laurel collapsed to their knees and took deep breaths. Bell stuck their landing and stared at Asgore. There was a moment where nothing happened, a breath of hope passed over the remaining children as the battleground cleared. Asgore’s hands shook, a tear rolled down his furry cheek, and his breath hitched like he wanted to say something. But after that moment blinked away, he set his shoulders once more and his next attack began.

Spirals of flame spun down around Bell. Whipping around, they struggled to make their way to Laurel, who was miraculously dodging attacks by mere centimeters. Bell reached out for Laurel, attempting to cover them from the attacks with their own body. However, as they got closer, Laurel sprang up and tackled Bell to the ground. Laurel held them there with what little strength they had left and blocked Bell from the flame that had been aiming right for them. The attack struck down on the unmarred side of Laurel’s face, knocking their glasses off and obscuring their face from anything resembling their previous countenance.

The attack stopped abruptly and Bell screamed as Laurel dropped dead on top of them. Rolling their friend over, Bell fumbled to do anything to help. But there was nothing to be done.

“Idiot! You idiot!” Bell shouted at Laurel’s slack body. “How could you sacrifice yourself for me, stupid!? We’re supposed to win this together! You and me! We’re supposed to get out of here together!”

Bell threw themself to the side and clutched at their head; feeling as if they didn’t hold on to it, it would explode. They had always been small, just a hair taller than Twain and a good deal shorter than Laurel; but in that moment, crying on the ground in front of the King of All Monsters with their dead best friend to their side, Bell had never felt tinier. Asgore made no move to come near Bell or start another attack, just stared down at the floor of the barrier and let them have their moment.

As Bell sobbed into the ground, other noises caught their ear. Looking up, they saw the shadowy forms of Twain and Hop pounding at the battledome. Hearing their siblings calling out to them, Bell realized they couldn’t just lay down and give up. Even if they could only get one more attack in, it would be worth it to protect the only family they had left. Wiping the tears and snot off their face, Bell stood up and faced Asgore. They positioned their feet, took a deep breath, and flew into action.

Bell kicked with more precision than they had in their previous turns and, despite their low HP, felt stronger than they had on the entire journey. _Kill him! Kill him! KILL HIM!_ kept pounding in Bell’s head in a voice they knew wasn’t theirs but also one they weren’t disagreeing with for once. Landing their last kick, they locked eyes with Asgore, forcing him to look up. Because they knew that they wouldn’t last another round against Asgore; in the split second they had before Asgore attacked, they shouted out at him.

“Now go ahead and kill me!” Bell screamed, throwing their arms wide open.

The flames rained down on Bell as mercilessly as ever. Scorching burns marred their beautiful dark skin and their ballet shoes and tutu were reduced to ash and some measly scraps of fabric. The vanquishing blow hit them square in the gut and knocked them flat on their back; they landed next to Laurel, theirs hands resting on each other’s.

* * *

The battlefield broke apart, but Hop and Twain stayed frozen in place. They were too petrified to move as Laurel and Bell’s souls were each secured in one the clear cylinders. The bodies of their fallen siblings phased through the floor and out of sight. Twain peeked over the edge of their frying pan, which they had been hiding behind, and saw Asgore’s hulking form looming over them and Hop.

“Which one of you will go next?” Asgore asked softly, not meeting the children’s eyes.

“Neither, we’re leaving,” Hop snapped, whipping around and banging their gun against the blocked exit.

But the shadowy wall blocking the doorway refused to give.

“Let us go, you..y-you...” Hop turned and aimed at the king, tears gushing down their face.

“Stop Hop,” Twain said, putting their sibling’s arms down. Hop would’ve giggled at the rhyme under other circumstances, but the look on Twain’s face only made them feel dread.

“No…” Hop slowly shook their head as they realized what Twain intended to do. “Twain, no, you don’t have to do thi-”

“I can do it!” Twain insisted. “I can do it, Hop. I’m the-I’m the oldest now, it’s my job to protect you and Frisk.”

“NO!” Hop screamed.

“It’s gonna be okay, Hop,” Twain smiled, reaching out to hug them. Hop let them wrap their arms around them, they knew it was important for Twain to get to hug them, but they couldn’t bring themself to hug back; they just stood there, blinking uncomprehendingly into the pulsing shadows of the barrier.

Twain pulled away and turned to Asgore, giving him a nod to show they were ready. The battledome went up again, and Hop was left on the other side again.

Asgore stood, yielding the first move to Twain. Twain felt their breath quicken, but it wasn’t from unsureness of what their first move would be. They had been thinking on it for a long time, since before they’d even left Home Twain had wondered what they’d do if they ever reached this point. They wished they’d never left Home, that the people they loved had never wanted to leave. But just because Twain was kind didn’t mean they were stupid, and they knew they couldn’t get out of this battle just by wishing. So, taking a deep breath, Twain hoisted their frying pan over their head and threw it to the ground.

The pan landed with an unceremonious thunk. Twain reached behind their back and untied their apron, throwing that on the ground too. Asgore looked down at the items and stole a glance at the child before them.

Wiping their hands on their pants, Twain looked up at Asgore.

“I won’t fight you, Asgore,” Twain said, their lip quivering. “I haven’t fought anyone in my life and I won’t do it now. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I know - deep down you know too - that you don’t want to hurt anyone either. Please, let’s just both forget all this and go home.”

Asgore’s hands shook, and the fight seemed to go out of him some. Twain felt hopeful for a moment, like their words had really reached Asgore and the fight would end. But the fight didn’t end. After a second of silence, fire rained down from the ceiling.

Twain dodged as best they could, but the last time attacks had been hurled at them they’d at least had some sort of shield. They considered re-equipping their apron or picking up their frying pan to block attacks, but they realized they really didn’t want to. Either Asgore would listen to them or he would have to kill them, but Twain wasn’t a fighter. They refused to play into the battle. They wanted to make sure if Asgore did kill them, he knew he was killing someone completely innocent. Someone who hadn’t even fought back or had any defense. It was the meanest thing Twain had ever done.

The attack ended, and Twain backed away from Asgore. Their HP was already more than halfway down. They may not have wanted to use weapons or shields or attacks, but Twain needed more time, and for that they had to use something to boost their HP. Thinking back to the kitchen in New Home, something clicked in Twain’s head. They knew what to do.

Digging into their pockets, Twain took out a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. It was crumbled and kind of stale from being in their pocket so long, but it was familiar and smelled like Home. Cramming the pie into their mouth, Twain felt their burns heal. Looking to Asgore for a reaction, Twain saw that the king’s face looked like he was remembering something far away but ever present.

The next attack came.

Flashing eyes.

Orange. Blue. Orange. Orange.

Asgore’s spear came down.

And Twain moved.

And went still.

And moved.

And moved.

Twain let out the breath they had been holding throughout the entire attack. They couldn’t believe they’d gotten through that without any damage. Looking up at Asgore, Twain felt a bit more daring than usual.

“Why do you take away our Mercy!?” Twain demanded, using their turn to speak to Asgore. “If you didn’t want us running away, why not use green magic like Undyne? You’re powerful enough. Or is this about you not wanting to give us the option to spare you!?”

Asgore’s next attack struck out before Twain could say another word. Flames went up on both sides of them and fell criss-cross down from above. This time, Twain’s HP took a hit. They still had a good portion of it left by the time the attack finished, but they were literally starting to go up in smoke.

“I know why you don’t want us to be able to spare you,” Twain panted. “You hate this. You hate being a king who has to kill to protect his people. You don’t think you deserve mercy! But that’s not your call to make, King Asgore. Sometimes when you’re at your worst is when you need the most mercy!”

More flames, spiraling around in tight circles. Twain aimed for the gaps in the loops, but wasn’t nearly as graceful as Bell had been during the attack and suffered a chunk of damage to their HP. By the end of the turn, Twain was wheezing and sobbing at the pain of their burns.

 _1 HP._ Twain told themself. _You have 1 HP, Twain. What will you do?_

Twain looked up at Asgore. Looked at his trembling hands, his tear streaked face, his broken expression...Twain knew what they had to do. Standing up, they took a deep breath and smiled through their tears.

“This is the last you’ll hear from me, Asgore,” Twain said. “I know I’m not fast enough or strong enough to make it through the next turn, but that’s okay. I never planned on winning this fight. At least, not in the way you would think. Killing you wouldn’t be a victory for me, Asgore. It would just be another death. Another murder. And even after everything you’ve done, I could never wish that on anyone. I know you don’t want to be this person, but I also know you’re not in the position to be someone else. And I...I forgive you, Asgore. Despite everything, I forgive you.”

Asgore raised his spear.

* * *

Hop paced back and forth in the narrow space between the blocked exit and the shadowy battledome. They had all but gnawed their thumbnails off in the strong clench of anxiety set in their jaw, but still their nerves wouldn’t settle. It had been easier before when another person had been there waiting with them; but now, with Frisk trapped outside of the barrier and Twain in battle and the rest of their siblings...not there anymore, Hop was all alone again. And they hated it.

 _No one’s going to kill Twain. Who could kill Twain? Twain’s never hurt anyone, who would hurt them?_ Hop kept telling themself as they waited for the battledome to lift, but they didn’t believe it. Asgore had already killed four of their older siblings, Hop didn’t trust him with Twain’s life. Still, when they heard the battledome lift away, Hop felt a flutter of hope that Twain would be standing there victorious.

 _You knew this was coming. You knew. You knew. Don’t get upset, you knew this would happen._ Hop said, trying to keep themself together. But it didn’t help. They saw Twain’s dead body burned and cut up laying on the barrier floor and Hop felt their head fill with white noise. The ends of their fingertips buzzed to the point of numbness and they could hardly stagger a breath as they watched Twain’s green soul get locked away and their body disappear into the floor.

Hop kept their eyes open, not even daring to blink for fear that all of their tears would come spilling out. Asgore straightened up and stared solemnly down at the last human standing in the barrier. He seemed to be waiting for Hop to say something.

“Th...That…” Hop sputtered, their breath coming out in short gasps. “That’s...That’s not.. .”

Hop looked down at the floor where Twain had been a moment ago. Where all of their siblings had died. They thought about Robin never getting to see Toriel again. Alex, who had always stressed the importance of staying together, dying alone.They thought about Bell dying right at the Barrier when they’d worked so hard to get to the surface.  Laurel whose only weapon had been their intelligence, not being enough.

And Twain. Twain who hadn’t ever thought of hurting anyone the entire journey. Twain who beat Undyne without striking a single blow. Twain who went to check up on that same monster who had tried to kill them on multiple occasions. Twain who only lied to make people feel better.

Hop looked up from the floor and directly into Asgore’s eyes.

“That’s not fair,” Hop said finally. “That is not fair.”

Hop clenched their hand so hard they felt all of the bones in it would break. Turning away, they slammed their fist against the blocked exit.

“THIS ISN’T FAIR!!” Hop screamed, pressing their forehead against the wall and finally letting their sobs escape. “NONE OF THEM DESERVED THIS!”

Hop took a shuddering breath, their shoulder blades pinching together as they struggled not to collapse to the ground.

“I don’t deserve this,” Hop murmured. “Frisk…”

Their hand opened and pressed flat against the blocked exit, hoping Frisk could tell they were trying to reach out to them.

“Frisk doesn’t deserve this,” Hop shook their head. Taking another breath, Hop turned back around to face Asgore. Their eyes quivered with rage as they gazed up at the stony-faced King.

“DON’T YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!?” Hop demanded, chest heaving with their ragged sobs. “YOU STUPID, MEAN KING! HOW CAN YOU JUST STAND THERE!?”

Asgore kept his head bowed, not daring to speak. He knew that no matter what he said, it would only hurt this child more; and he couldn’t bear the thought of making Hop suffer anymore than they already had.

“Fine!” Hop shouted. “You don't want to talk!? Fine!!”

Wiping their snotty, tearstained face on their sleeve, Hop took a deep breath and fixed Asgore with a fierce glare. Using both hands, they aimed their gun right at the King of All Monsters.

“All you’ve done is fight and kill instead of looking for another solution,” Hop’s voice quavered. “You want to fight me too!? Then, let’s fight!”

The battledome flew up all around Hop. Asgore ran his trident down through them, taking away their ability to give mercy. It wouldn't have mattered to Hop either way, they no longer felt like Asgore deserved any mercy from them. Pulling the trigger on their gun, Hop fired their first shots; magic bullets barreled out of the gun and collided with Asgore's chest. His HP went down a bit, down to below half from all the past battles he hadn't healed from yet. 

Circles of flames shot out around Hop as the first attack began. Gritting their teeth, Hop dodged from side to side. They tried to remember how they'd moved in Mettaton's battle, but just ended up remembering how many times they'd almost died. 

 _Wait a minute!_ Hop thought, all of a sudden remembering how they'd won against Mettaton. _If I just get down to 1 HP, the autopilot thing will take over for me!_

For the rest of the turn, Hop stopped worrying so much about getting hit and let the chips fall where they may. An attack scorched their shoulder and another burned off the end of one of their braids. The pain was bad, but Hop struggled through it to the end of the attack and came out with 12 HP left. 

Firing their gun again, Hop brought Asgore's HP down a bit more. Then, they braced for his next attack. 

Fire blazed up on either side of them. On instinct, they tried to scramble away from it the second a flame as much as brushed their foot; and lost their hat in the process. Stumbling to their feet, they found the attack had already ended. Their HP had dwindled down to 6. 

Breathing heavily, they licked their lips and looked up at Asgore. They thought about saying something to him, but couldn't think of anything they could say to change him. Wincing at their charred shoulder, Hop took aim again and fired at the King of All Monsters.

Asgore's HP was getting low, too. Hop figured after one more round, they could get his HP all the way down. But first, they had to get through the next attack. 

Asgore's eyes flashed orange, orange, orange, and then blue. Bringing his spear down, Hop began to move under the swinging orange blade. 

As they dodged, Hop felt a growing warmth climbing their right leg. Looking down, Hop noticed for the first time that their foot had caught on fire in the last round. Falling onto their back, Hop wildly shook at their leg to try and put the flames out.

Luckily, the flame attack had already done it's damage to Hop's HP; so, they didn't lose any additional points just because the flames hadn't subsided yet. However, as they focused on shaking the flames out on their leg, they lost track of what Asgore's trident was doing. And when the blade turned blue, their leg was still moving. 

The spear collided with Hop's leg about halfway up their shin. There was a sickening slicing noise, a surge of pain, and the sound of a bone snapping clean in half. The flames had stopped climbing up Hop's leg, and Asgore's trident had stopped swinging. The attack was over.

Hop felt that their HP had gotten down to 1, but they could barely register why that was significant any longer. Unblinking, the stared at the bloody stump where their foot had been sliced off and then at the lost ligament that lay smoldering on the barrier's floor. The flames consumed the chunk of Hop's leg that had been sliced away, reducing it to ash and dust in as fast as a minute. 

"Wh-What...?" Hop murmured, unable to process that their right foot was gone. Looking up at Asgore, they wondered if them speaking counted as a move. Asgore didn't seem to be making any move to start his next attack; instead, he seemed frightened by Hop's lost limb and was giving the human child all of the space they needed.

Looking back to their bleeding leg, Hop felt the first bubbles of hysteria rising in their chest. Reaching out, they grabbed either side of their leg and went to peek at the damage. The first glimpse of white bone peeking out of the end of their leg was enough to make them rescind their grasp and hold their leg away from them. Tears began to spill down their cheeks and their breathing began to quicken.

"No! Not right now!" Hop shouted at themself, wrestling down the pain that was beginning to come to the forefront of their mind. They wanted nothing more than to lay down and scream in pain until someone, anyone, came to help them. But they knew no one was coming. Frisk was locked out, their older siblings were dead, and Toriel had no idea what was happening. It was all up to them, they couldn't lay down yet. Grabbing for their gun, Hop braced their hands against the ground and began to push themself into a standing position. It took a lot of struggling, the pain throbbing in their leg combined with the sweltering burn on their shoulder and the near drop dead dizziness rattling in their skull all made Hop want to puke their guts out and give up; but they managed to get into some sort of half-standing position. They took their aim.

But they were too tired; they were too hurt and dizzy. Every shot they took missed the mark and fired off into the distance. What's more, the force of the gun firing was too strong, and sent Hop flying onto their back. The gun flopped out of their hand and skittered away, out of reach. The fall had jostled their leg and now the pain was too intense to ignore. Grabbing their hands around their leg, Hop clutched their knee to their chest and bit into it to keep from screaming. 

Eventually, Asgore's attack had to begin. Flames shot out of Asgore's hands in disorderly semicircles. At that point, Hop's head was so jumbled and worked over with pain and fatigue, they could barely remember why they were there or what was even happening. They saw a line of flames coming straight at their face, and raised a hand to shield themself against it.

When Hop's HP reached 0, they had one final moment of clarity. Everything became understandable again, they could remember what had been happening. As they realized what the situation combined with they had just done meant for them, Hop finally let themself cry. The sobs built and built until it was a loud wail, carrying out of the barrier and into the surface world. 

"Th-This wasn't-" Hop gasped, their final moments fleeting as they lay choking on their own breaths. "This w-wasn't supposed to...h-happen, Asgore...I was-I was-I was s-supposed to be a-able to...Once I got 1 HP, I...I...Why didn't I...?"

Their hysterical babbling continued, growing more incoherent the harder they tried to speak. Asgore looked down at the child, their big pleading eyes boring into his; and he couldn't stay silent any longer. 

Asgore dropped his spear and the battledome fell away. Falling to his knees, Asgore gently reached out and took Hop in his arms.

Maybe it was clouded judgement from being seconds away from death, or maybe it was just the fear of dying alone on the barrier floor, or maybe Hop hadn't just hadn't been held in a long time; but they didn't protest to being scooped up by the King of All Monsters and cradled against his chest like they were his own child. 

"Why!?" was all Hop could manage, tiny hands grabbing at Asgore's fur in a desperate attempt to cling to this world. "Y-you had...a human kid..."

"Shh," Asgore hushed the child in his arms, tears running down his face. "Shh, be still now."

"...not fair..." Hop murmured. 

"I know," Asgore said, pulling Hop away from him a little bit so he could see the human's face. Their expression dwindled between present and away, like someone trying to fight off drowsiness so they could finish watching a movie. "It's okay to let go, child. It's over."

Hop's face cracked into a weak grin, they gazed up at Asgore from under half-lidded eyes. 

"I'm glad I could...get you to talk to me..." Hop laughed, reaching up weakly to pet some of the fur near his face. "Would have been m-much easier...like this from the start..."

Hop's hand stroked about halfway through Asgore's long fur before stopping. With a slink, their hand pulled away and dropped limply to their side. 

* * *

_What are you gonna do? You can't go back a save you already saved after Robin's death there's no going back no going back no going back...You have to restart everything, Frisk, it's the only way to save everyone. Yeah, restart and don't mess things up this time._

"Quiet!" Frisk snapped out loud, silencing the little goading whisper in the back of their head.

Ever since they'd fallen down, there'd been a wavering voice speaking to them in their head. Mostly, they just made bad puns and narrated bits of scenery; but sometimes they could get nasty, taunting and pressuring Frisk to make choices that were easier but that would mean hurting others or taking away their autonomy. Frisk usually ignored them and they would get bored and leave them alone, but they were becoming increasingly insistent on the idea of resetting and Frisk couldn't help but notice how antsy they had gotten from when they'd arrived at New Home until now.  

Turning back to the blocked exit, Frisk tried pounding against the shadowy wall again. But it wouldn't give, not one centimeter. Growing frustrated at not being able to see what was happening within the barrier, Frisk brought back their arms and swung them forward to smash angrily against the blockade. 

But when they went to punch against the shadowy wall, Frisk didn't feel any resistance rush up to meet their hands. Instead, their arms swung right through the doorway and came swooshing to their sides.

The exit was finally unblocked. Frisk figured this could only mean one of two things: Either the others had managed to beat Asgore and they were free to go to the surface, or Asgore had defeated all of their siblings and was waiting for them to come in and battle him for their soul. Frisk didn't want to think about which they thought was more probable of happening. Shaking the thought out of their head, Frisk stared into the darkness of the doorway. 

And then they moved forward alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hang in there, guys. This story has a happy ending, I promise.


	25. You Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I didn't just kill them for no reason...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dudes!! Sorry this took a while!! I worked pretty much every day this week so it was hard to find the free time!!! And, just a PSA, I'm starting classes tomorrow so chapters might take a while to post from here on out. I'll still try to get them up at least a week at a time, but don't despair if this fic doesn't update as fast as usual!! I'm not giving up on this story! I just will have less time to write at my leisure. Thanks in advance for your patience!!

Frisk's narrator had gone quiet. As soon as Frisk had walked through the doorway to the Barrier, the little voice in their head had stopped speaking. Their silence concerned Frisk; usually, they couldn't get them to stop babbling away. The fact that they weren't saying any sort of clever remark about the barrier or pointing out a save point, was disconcerting. 

Asgore stood with his back to Frisk, his shoulders were dropped low and his entire frame shook with the effort to contain his heaving sobs. Biting their lip, Frisk looked around for any sign of the others. They had hoped someone would have been able to put an end to the battle, one way or another; but as they realized that they were the only human left in the underground, their hopes began to dwindle.

"So, you are the last one..." Asgore spoke, his voice ragged with despair. "There was something keeping myself and the other humans trapped in this barrier...But I see that it has gone now..."

Frisk looked behind them and stuck a curious hand through the doorway; nothing held them in.

"Human," Asgore said. "If there is any unfinished business you must attend to, do it now. Take however long you like. I will wait here for you."

Frisk thought of going back. They thought about leaving and hiding in the underground for the rest of their life. They thought about going back a save. About resetting. About giving up.

But they refused. 

Standing their ground, Frisk drew their dagger out and stood poised for battle. 

"I see," Asgore murmured when he realized Frisk wasn't going anywhere. "Then, this is it."

Turning around, Asgore gave Frisk a smile so sad and shaking that Frisk could hardly muster any malice for the King who'd slain their friends. 

"Ready?" Asgore asked. Then, there was a phasing noise and seven glass cylinders shot up from the barrier floor.

Frisk was startled at the multicolored souls floating in six of the containers, knowing they belonged to the other humans they had grown to love over their time spent together; but they were determined then and there that, if they chose what was in their heart, everyone could end up smiling in the end. They didn't know how it would happen, but Frisk still had the courage to hold on to their last sliver of hope that things would be okay. Looking up at Asgore, they gave him a nod to indicate they were ready. 

The battledome sprang up around them, blocking them into the fight. Twilight shone through the barrier, casting a strange light around the space. Looking around, Frisk realized that their journey through the underground was finally at its end and felt a hollow accomplishment. As they thought back about the hours spent trying to get through the perils of the underground, Frisk felt a pang of nostalgia for all of the people and things they'd met and experienced. They had wanted to move forward so badly, they'd forgotten to stop and appreciate what was happening around them. 

"Human," Asgore spoke, interrupting their thoughts. He looked up at Frisk, giving another heartbreakingly sad smile. "It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

Then, King Asgore brandished his bright red trident and swing it through the air. Jabbing downwards, the king swiped through the final human. Frisk felt their option to give mercy shattered and began to panic. They saw how broken Asgore was, saw how much his actions were hurting him. Of course, just feeling regret wasn't enough to make up for the lives he'd taken; but seeing how sad and old Asgore looked there in the middle of the barrier, only made Frisk feel pity for him. 

However, as sans had said, Frisk wasn't the only human who hadn't gained any LOVE. Every single member of their group had gotten to this point without killing anyone, and Frisk knew that they wouldn't have battled Asgore without at least trying to talk him down. If their attempts to talk Asgore down had failed, how could they even begin to try? They, who hardly ever opened their mouth; how could they say anything to make Asgore stop? 

And then, Frisk realized something. They didn't have to say a word to get Asgore to stop. Actions spoke louder than words, after all. And Frisk suddenly knew what they would have to do to show Asgore that he was worth more than just being an obstacle or just a figurehead. Gripping the hilt of their blade, Frisk struck out at the King of All Monsters. 

The knife sliced against Asgore's breastplate, and Frisk saw his HP dwindle down. It was already significantly depleted, and Frisk idly wondered if their friends had been aiming to kill Asgore. As it stood, Asgore's HP was about a quarter of its full potential. Frisk had little time to contemplate this, though, as the first attack fired out from Asgore's side of the battlefield. 

The attack was weaker than Frisk had anticipated, flames swirling around them in lazy criss-crosses at a glacial pace. Frisk got hit a couple of times, but nothing so severe to make them worry about making it to the next turn. Their elbow was burnt and it was hard to bend, but it hardly made a difference to Frisk.

Asgore's turn ended and Frisk struck out with their dagger again. In the back of their mind, they recalled Undyne's story about how she hadn't been able to land a single blow on Asgore; and Frisk wondered why the King was just standing there taking this beating. The King's HP shrank down to a sliver of green and his next attack began. 

More flames circled around Frisk. Easy enough to dodge since they weren't spinning too incredibly fast, but Frisk still came out with a burn sweltering on their cheek. 

As the attack ended, Frisk heard a familiar voice. Their narrator had returned to give Frisk a message that settled like a boulder in the pit of their stomach. 

_Asgore has low HP._

Closing their eyes, Frisk said a silent prayer to anyone who was listening that they were doing the right thing and everything would turn out okay. Biting so hard on their lip they felt blood well in their mouth, Frisk stabbed at Asgore again.

There was a sickening sound as Frisk opened their eyes and saw Asgore's HP shoot down to barely anything. Asgore clutched his chest and sank down to one knee in front of the last human. 

"Ah..." Asgore spoke, his voice laced with resignation. "...So that is how it is..."

Frisk felt their lip begin to quiver as they looked at the King of All Monsters crumpled before them on the barrier floor. Asgore took a long pause, his eyes drifting far away as if recalling some distant memory. When he spoke again, the sorrow in his voice was palpable.

"..." Asgore took a deep breath. "I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope. The future had once been taken from us by the humans."

Frisk looked to their shoes. After everything that had happened, Frisk understood exactly how Asgore and the rest of the monsters must have felt. They felt as if the futures of the other humans had been taken from them, and Frisk certainly felt their hope curdling up in their heart. 

"In a fit of anger," Asgore continued. "I declared war. I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike...and free us from this terrible prison. Then, I would destroy humanity...And let monsters rule the surface, in peace. Soon, the people's hopes returned."

Asgore's face twisted in pain, tears wrenching from his eyes as he continued speaking.

"My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions," Asgore said. "She left this place, never to be seen again."

Frisk thought of Toriel all alone in the Ruins. They thought about how disdainful she had been at the mere mention of Asgore's name and how ardently she had tried to keep them and the others away from Asgore. They thought of her human child she had lost. They felt a distant stir in the back of the head. Their narrator wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. 

"Truthfully..." Asgore kept going. "I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope...But...I cannot take this any longer." 

It was a bittersweet relief that Frisk felt as Asgore finally admitted to his conflicted feelings; they were glad to see him be honest with himself, but they wished he had realized this about six humans' deaths ago. 

"I just want to see my wife," Asgore said, his face contorting in anguish. "I just want to see my child."

Frisk felt their narrator bristle at the word 'child'; then, they went quiet again.

"Please...Young one..." Asgore said to Frisk. "This war has gone on long enough. You have the power...Take my soul, and leave this cursed place."

Two options stood before Frisk. They stood between killing Asgore and sparing him. Killing him would mean they could keep moving forward, but how would they be able to move on from this? No matter how much they wanted to leave the underground, killing another to get there had never been part of the plan. But, then again, Asgore had killed six of their friends. Asgore was the reason they even had to make this choice. Robin had been right, he should have crossed the barrier after getting one human soul and gotten six more from humans who had already passed away. But he chose to rely on the fear and apprehension of the human children already down there. He hadn't expected to have to kill all of them by himself. He was a coward. Surely, it was only fair that he die too. Taking a gulp of air, Frisk reached out with their dagger poised in the air. 

And they threw it to the ground.

Asgore's eyes peeked open at the clatter sound of the knife hitting the ground. He stared at the weapon laying on the floor in front of him in amazement. Then, he looked up at Frisk in shock.

"After everything I have done to hurt you..." Asgore murmured, his face softening as he looked at the young human. "You would rather stay down here and suffer...Than live happily on the surface?"

Frisk felt a stir of déjà vu as Asgore spoke. It was as if they'd heard this dialogue before. But...they had only done this battle once...Then, they realized, it wasn't their memory. 

"Human..." Asgore said, smiling at Frisk. "I promise you...For as long as you remain here...My wife and I will take care of you as best we can."

Frisk wrinkled their brow at the term 'wife'. Was Asgore forgetting that Toriel wasn't with him anymore? They felt their narrator growing uneasy and Frisk tried probing them to say what was wrong, but the little voice in their head wouldn't speak.

"We can sit in the living room, telling stories..." Asgore continued, his eyes glazed over. "Eating butterscotch pie...We could be like...Like a family..."

Frisk wanted to respond, but the narrator's panic coursed through their head so strongly they could barely gather a thought. They seemed to want to tell Frisk something, but couldn't get the words out. Wouldn't let themself get the words out. Frisk sent soothing thoughts to the narrator, trying to calm them down and let them know it was alright. Turning to Asgore, Frisk opened their mouth to speak to the King.

But before they could get a word out, there came a familiar sound. Frisk's eyes widened as a circle of white bullets surrounded Asgore, much to his shock. They barely had time to react before the bullets closed in around the King of All Monsters and shot directly into his heart.

The sound of Asgore's HP hitting 0 sickened Frisk. Tears filled their eyes as they watched the King turn to dust, all that was left of him was his glowing white soul. But soon after Asgore had scattered to the winds, a single bullet shot out and cracked the heart-shaped soul in half. It was too familiar for Frisk, they'd seen it happen to their own soul and countless others' within the course of their journey. As the shards of Asgore's soul broke to pieces, Frisk tried to back away; but their feet wouldn't move. Someone didn't want them to leave.

The ground where Asgore had been a moment ago began to quiver and Frisk felt a shock of fear zip up their spine as they realized who was coming. In the next instant, a golden flower popped out from the ground and grinned smugly up at Frisk. 

"You IDIOT!" Flowey taunted. "You haven't learned a thing. In this world..." 

There was the sound of smattering glass from outside of the battledome. Frisk gasped as they saw the multicolored souls of their friends spin around them and travel towards Flowey until they were rotating around his petaled face. 

"It's KILL or BE killed."

Flowey's face began to twist and rot, resembling a human skeleton as he spoke to Frisk. Then, his jaw unhinged and his terrible cackle sounded from his awful mouth. Frisk couldn't tell the difference between their panic and their narrator's as the space around them began to go blindingly white. All detail around them began to wash out, and Flowey and the other six souls started to vanish in front of their eyes. The dazzling brightness burned their eyes and a deep humming had begun to give way over Flowey's harsh laughter. Frisk felt their heart pounding, felt their ears burning, saw everything bleach out...

Until it all went black.

And they felt nothing. 


	26. Your Best Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did it for the vines.

Frisk snapped back to consciousness in what felt like an instant to them. Looking around, they wondered if they had even opened their eyes yet; the surrounding blackness was so dark and complete it didn't even make a difference to them if their eyes were open or not. Waving their arms about, they felt around to see if anything was in front of them. Finding no obstacles, they begin to walk. 

They kept going and going in what felt like a never ending void where they were the sole inhabitant. Off in the distance, they thought they could see a faint shimmering spark up on the horizon. As they drew closer, Frisk saw that the shimmering was in fact one of the familiar save points that their narrator had always pointed out to them. Coming up in front of the little yellow spark, Frisk looked around them again. 

No one was coming, and there was nothing else around.

At a loss for what else to do, Frisk reached out and touched the save point. Like all the other checkpoints, the felt their save ability activate when they touched the save point. 

But, before they could hit either 'save' or 'restart', a heavy clanging broke out in their head. The clanging continued, smashing inside of Frisk's skull as they felt their save file shattered to pieces.

 _File erased._ Burned an angry red behind their eyelids. 

When their vision cleared, Frisk whipped around with a gasp and found themself face-to-face with an engorged Flowey face. Frisk tried to run, but found they couldn't move at all. Flowey's face blurred in and out like an old television set, and Frisk felt themself get flung back a few feet as he prepared to speak.

"Howdy!" Flowey greeted, his face continuing to blur in and out of focus. "It's me, Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

Frisk's lip began to quiver as they stared into the sickly sweet grin plastered on the flower's demented face.

"I owe you and your little friends a HUGE thanks," Flowey winked. "You guys really did a number on that old fool. Without you, I NEVER could have gotten past him. But now, with your help..."

Flowey's face morphed into the familiar face of King Asgore, melancholy and kind. 

" _He's DEAD!_ " Flowey said, making Asgore's face melt into a skull. Flowey's face snapped back to normal and he flashed an evil grin. "And since those other idiots just couldn't stop dying for you...I'VE got six human souls!"

Flowey shorted out again, flickering out to black for a second before popping back up. 

"Boy!" Flowey smiled. "I've been empty for so long...It feels great to have a soul inside me again. Mmm, I can feel them wriggling...Haha, your little friends are still trying to fight me. How cute."

Frisk bared their teeth and growled up at Flowey. 

"Awww," Flowey said, his voice wrought with feigned pity. "You're feeling left out, aren't you? Well, that's just perfect. After all, I only have six souls. I still need one more...Before I become GOD. And then, with my newfound powers...Monsters..."

Frisk startled as Flowey's face morphed into a mask of Toriel.

"Humans..." Flowey continued, snickering as he morphed his face into Frisk's countenance. "Everyone."

Then, Flowey's face melted away, revealing a murky absence of matter with an illuminate white smile plastered in the middle. 

"I'll show them all the REAL meaning of this world," Flowey hissed, his voice waspish and vindictive. "Oh, and forget about escaping to your old SAVE FILE. It's gone FOREVER."

A jolt of ice shot up Frisk's spine, they wanted to do something. Something that would show Flowey they weren't scared of him. But the problem was, they _were_ scared. They were so scared they couldn't move.

"But don't worry!" Flowey gushed. "Your old friend Flowey...Has worked out a replacement for you!"

Frisk yelped in fear as Flowey's jaw opened and he gnashed animalistic fangs at them. 

"I'll SAVE over your own death. So you can watch me tear you to bloody pieces..."

Frisk felt their narrator stir at the back of their mind, an anxious mass of regret and guilt in the midst of all this chaos. 

"Over, and over, and over..." Flowey raved. 

Their narrator was squirming for Frisk to do something, but Frisk remained frozen in fear. Then, with a jolt, Frisk felt themself lurch forward involuntarily. They gasped and probed their narrator for an explanation and felt a rush of emotion come from the little silent voice at the back of their head. 

"...what?" Flowey's voice broke, peering confusedly down at Frisk. But as Flowey looked at them, Frisk couldn't fight the feeling he was talking to someone else. "Do you really think you can stop ME?" 

 _Does he...know you're here...?_ Frisk thought at their narrator, but the little voice had clammed up. 

"Hee, hee, hee..." Flowey chuckled, shaking his head and closing his eyes as an easy grin spread across his face. 

Frisk felt their heart seize in their chest as they looked up at Flowey and saw his eyes pop open and stare beadily down at them. His grin spread wider as the next words left his mouth.

"You really ARE an idiot." 

* * *

Darkness again. A brief respite of complete nothingness floated around Frisk while they waited for the other shoe to drop. Then, as quickly as the darkness had fallen it was disturbed by a bright burst of light. Blinking their eyes into focus, Frisk saw Robin's aqua soul burn through the darkness. The other souls followed in succession: orange, blue, purple, green, yellow...until they were all arranged in a loop hovering overhead. Frisk watched in horror as their friends' souls sank into the black around them with a sickening suction noise, like a show sinking in mud. 

Then, all around them, the world began to beat red. Pulses of crimson filled the space and a heaving snap of ozone drifted through the air. Overhead, a gnarled silhouette was beginning to lower down in front of Frisk. Craggy talons dangled down from massive arms made of what looked like twisted vines and, as the shape came down lower and lower, Frisk could see tubes snaking out the back of it.

The hulking figure finally stopped, coming to a halt in front of Frisk. An old television screen crackled to life in the center of the lightless form, a twisted smile spreading across the screen. As Frisk stared, unable to look away, the smiley face's eyes widened and turned bloodshot. The creature's mouth wrenched open and a horrible magnification of Flowey's laugh boomed out all around Frisk. 

As the mutated flower cackled, the rest of his new form gave way to light and Frisk backed away in horror. The form was a horrifying mess of sickly green vines and blaring red thorns. Pipes jutted out around Flowey's television screen, making a crude six-petaled flower shape around his face. There were also huge eyes and teeth stuck around Flowey's screen, jutting grotesquely into the open air at painful angles. 

Frisk wasn't allotted much time after Flowey's cackling had subsided before he started to attack. A score of targeted lasers pinned onto their chest and, before they even had time to register what they might be, a following cluster of vines smashed into their chest and cut their HP by more than a quarter. 

Panting already, Frisk scrambled to their feet and tried to dodge the next set of laser targets. They managed to untangle themself from the vines without losing too much more HP, but immediately stumbled backward into a powerful beam of light spewing from Flowey's awful mouth. Frisk turned and backed away, crossing into the path of a slew of cross-shaped attacks that cut at their face and bloodied their nose. Overgrown bullets surrounded them and slammed mercilessly into their limbs. 

Dropping to their knees, Frisk wheezed for air. Their HP was only getting lower and Flowey wasn't fighting fair. Their fight button would show up occasionally, but they had no window open to eat any health items or to try and run away or to call out for help. 

 _Who would you even call out to?_ Frisk chastised themself. _No one is coming to save you. This is all that's left. You and Flowey and your death. Over and over and over and over again until he gets bored._

As they thought this, they noticed the attacks had stopped for a moment. Looking up, they saw one of the petals made from metal tubes light up. It began pulsing a bright blue and, as Frisk watched, Flowey's screen blared red and Robin's aqua soul took over. 

The vines and teeth sank away and Frisk was alone in the dark. The television blared, only the little aqua heart on the screen. From all around, plastic knives began swirling out around at them. Fighting their dizziness, Frisk swerved to avoid getting hit. Inevitably, one of the attacks struck them in the arm. As the attack hit them, Frisk felt their chest clench in terror that this was the finishing blow; but they found that they hadn't received any actual damage. 

They continued navigating the attacks, wondering what Robin's soul was trying to do. As they pressed further up the battlefield, they saw it coming into focus. Their "ACT" button. 

Holding their breath, Frisk ran for the button. Climbing over the dull plastic blades, the small child reached out and grabbed at the button. Once they'd hit the button, they wasted no time in acting. 

"Robin!" Frisk called out to the screen, chest heaving with their labored breaths. "Help me!" 

At the close of Frisk's plea for help, the knives stopped spinning. The attacks shook a little bit and then - _pop!_ \- were replaced with green bandages. 

The bandages floated over to Frisk, pressing against their injuries and healing them with a shimmering noise. Frisk looked up to the screen and saw the aqua soul had been replaced by Alex's orange soul. 

After a few more seconds of healing, the screen was once again taken over by Flowey's twisted face and his attacks took over once more. 

Bombs began to drop from above, exploding at Frisk's feet and shaking the entire space around them as they struggled to dive out of the way. Robin's help had healed their HP, but now it was steadily depleting again at Flowey's latest onslaught of attacks. 

When the bombs subsided, a gigantic venus fly trap popped up in one corner. There was a loud buzzing and a swarm of flies began bolting for the corner as the venus fly tray snapped its jaws at the bugs. Frisk covered their face and pushed out of the tornado of insects, skin crawling as the millions of spindly legs brushed against their neck and hands. 

More bombs followed, accompanied by bouncing green spores that shot around the frame of the battlefield and gnashed terrible out of place teeth at Frisk as they hurled blindly through the murky nothingness. Then, vines were shooting and hitting Frisk from all around, knocking them down and draining their HP. 

Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, vines with hands sprouting out of them popped up on either side of Frisk and began shooting finger guns at them. Detached fingers with flowers stuck on top of them shot out at Frisk, pelting and jabbing them all over. 

Miraculously, the attacks stopped just when Frisk was about to bite it. Looking up, they saw another of Flowey's petals light up. This time, the petal was orange and Frisk could see Alex's soul take over the screen. Letting out a sigh of relief, Frisk stood and prepared for the next round. 

Circles of Alex's tough glove wound down around Frisk. Weaving in and out of the attacks, Frisk scanned the horizon for their act button. After a few seconds, they found the loop of hands the act button was spinning. Speeding out of the loop they were currently in the middle of, Frisk made a dive for the act button. 

Their hands slipped away from the button at first, but the second time they managed to grasp the button and call out for help again. 

"Alex, help!!" Frisk shouted, their tiny voice carrying over to the ancient television set. 

The white hands popped out of sight, replacing themselves with green thumbs-ups that spun in slow circles. As Frisk raced to get as many health boosts as they could gather in one go, they saw the orange heart give way to Bell's dark blue one. Then, the battle resumed. 

Vines slammed heavily against Frisk, rattling their brain around in their skull as they got knocked to the ground. No matter what they did to dodge, some attack always found their blindspot. 

 _Shouldn't you be helping!?_ Frisk thought loudly at their narrator, who would always step in and help whenever they were getting low HP. But no one answered. Gritting their teeth, Frisk whipped around to face the attack they heard whizzing towards them. 

* * *

_Hee hee hee. Did you really think I was gonna be satisfied...killing you only ONE time?_

Frisk blinked their eyes open and they were back in the middle of battle, ducking under an attack as it was flung at them. They hardly had time to register their confusion as more vines wrapped around them and sliced their skin with their thorns. They tried to move out of the thicket, but as soon as they set foot outside of the vines, Flowey would reload and put them back where they'd been. 

Flowey started to cackle evilly as Frisk's HP dwindled down again in rapid fashion. However, Flowey's laughter was cut off by the sharp shrill of a siren blaring out. Frisk laughed a little as Bell's blue soul butted Flowey out of control and took the stage.

Giant ballet slippers fell in line, one after the other, stomping up and down in succession in the company of a string of stars. Frisk ran under while they were poised in the air and paused when they slammed to the ground, keeping an eye out for the act button. Seven slippers passed before Frisk came to the button, making no hesitation of grabbing onto the edges. Calling Bell's named, Frisk pleaded for help.

The ballet shoes stopped full on and disappeared. The string of stars changed into a chain of green music notes, Bell's blue soul gave way to Laurel's purple. Poising themself at the front of the line, Frisk ran straight through the notes and felt their HP fill back up. 

Flowey had more vines waiting for them back in the battle. Frisk had become better at dodging them, and was actually doing better than they had before; they were to able to make it through the vine attacks with only minimal damage to their HP.

After the vines cleared, however, something new. Slinging out from Flowey's sides, two pistols fired at Frisk and blew sheets of flame at them from overhead. Their HP sank down below half. 

Beams of energy spewed out of Flowey's mouth, arching over a wide span of the battlefield and singing Frisk's elbow. A quarter HP left. 

A siren sounded again and Frisk looked up hopefully, smiling when they saw the purple heart taking over the screen.

Flowey faded away and Frisk found themself between two lines of old notebooks, all of them looking exactly like the one Laurel had been carrying for years. As they stood between the rows of notebooks, words began spilling out. Words like **TRAPPED** and **CRUELTY** and **DESPAIR** and **NIGHTMARE** scanned across the space between the rows. Frisk moved between the words and lunged for the act button that had appeared near the top of the notebooks. Looking up to the screen, Frisk called out to Laurel for help. 

The white words shook to a halt and changed to green. As they changed to green, the words' message changed as well. Frisk felt their throat tighten as the words flowed out to form a message. 

**DON'T**

**GIVE**

**UP**

**FRISK**

Wiping their eyes on their striped sleeve, Frisk lunged for the green words and brought their HP back up. Purple turned to green, and Frisk went back into their battle with Flowey. 

* * *

_Pathetic...Now you're REALLY gonna die!_

* * *

_Hee hee hee. Do you even realize what will happen if you defeat me?_

* * *

_Don't you get it? There's no such thing as happy endings._

_This is all that's left...!_

Frisk gritted their teeth and stared Flowey down. They couldn't stop dying, their narrator wasn't even speaking anymore, and Flowey's taunts just kept making them grow more frustrated. Rolling up their sleeves, Frisk sprang right back into action; ignoring all of their past failures. 

Sliding across the ground, Frisk dodged the white cross attacks that shot from Flowey's grotesque eyeballs. Springing back to their feet, they paused and let Flowey's tracking lasers lock on them and then dove out of the way in the last minute. A swarm of flies caught them off guard and clipped their HP down to half; but after the bugs flew away, they heard the familiar drill of a siren and grinned up at the green soul taking over the screen. 

Duplicates of Twain's frypan hovered above Frisk's head, shaking out balls of fire at the youngest child.  The burns from these attacks were mild; Frisk was positive they were nothing compared to the injuries the others had endured when they fought Asgore. Sidestepping the showers of fire, Frisk looked up and ran for the act button when they saw it fling out of one of the pans. 

"Twain!" Frisk called out. "H-"

Before Frisk could finish their sentence, the flame attacks stopped falling. They were replaced with green fried eggs, that scattered down around Frisk and filled up their HP. Hop's yellow soul lit up the screen and then Frisk was sent back into battle. 

White crosses shot from Flowey's eyes, spanning the entire battlefield and knocking Frisk flat against the invisible walls of the dome. Wiping the blood from their mouth, Frisk staggered to their feet and jumped to avoid the smashing of vines headed their way. A shooting spore ricocheted off the battledome wall and chomped down on their arm, slashing their HP in half. Frisk hurried to the right when they heard Flowey's power beam begin to spew from his mouth, backing themself into a corner. 

The siren sounded again, and Frisk looked up to see Hop's soul fill the screen. 

This time, it was Hop's gun that Frisk had to face. The weapon spun and fired at projected targets, and Frisk had to be light on their feet to avoid standing in one of the targets. A few rounds fired and then their act button fired from the barrel of the gun, which Frisk grabbed onto and yelled out to Hop. 

The gun didn't stop firing, but began to shake as it spat out bullets. Then, the bullets were replaced with green four leaf clovers which fired at heart-shaped targets. Frisk ran to the targets and got hit with healing items. Looking up at the screen, they noticed that Robin's soul had come back to the screen.

As the four leaf clovers ceased firing, Frisk prepared to go back into battle. But they didn't. They looked up to the television screen in confusion; and, as they stared, they saw Hop's yellow soul come out of the screen followed by the other five souls of their friends. Frisk's breath hitched as the souls came down and spun in a circle around them. 

While the souls were spinning, their healing items starting spewing out as well. Frisk got hit on all sides with the various green items and felt their HP max out in a matter of seconds. The souls flew off in different directions, finally returning Frisk to the battle. 

_Flowey's DEFENSE dropped to 0!_

_Oh, so you're talking to me again!?_ Frisk thought at their narrator, quietly relieved to hear their voice again. 

 _Just fight!!_ Their narrator shouted at them. 

For the first time in the battle, Frisk actually made use of the 'FIGHT' button and slashed out at Flowey with their dagger. 

 _Perfect for cutting vines._ Their narrator commented absently as Flowey's HP went down. 

Vines began to spring at Frisk and they ran to dodge.

 _What are you doing!?_ Their narrator panicked. _Don't move away from where the Fight Button's gonna come up!_

Frisk stopped and got smacked in the chest with a vine, cutting down their HP. 

_But if I don't dodge how will I-_

Frisk's question was cut off when they noticed a green healing item floating down to the center of the battlefield. Running back to their place in the center, Frisk grabbed at the clover and felt their HP boost. 

And so Frisk fought, stabbing out at Flowey with all the strength they could muster and staying just above minimum HP with the help of their friends' souls. The lower Flowey's HP got, the more desperate his attacks began. Bombs fell and shook Frisk to their knees, finger guns blasted from both sides, spores gnashed through the air, and bullets closed around Frisk's little frame. But Frisk kept going, determined to end Flowey's murderous rampage. Finally, Flowey's HP got low enough that Frisk knew one more strike would finish him. But as they stood to take the jab, Frisk's hand stayed. 

 _What are you waiting for!? FINISH HIM!!!!_ Their narrator yelled. 

"I-I can't..." Frisk whimpered out loud.

_Yes, you can!! It's the only way to end this!!_

NO! Frisk shouted in their head. 

 _UUUURRRRGHHHH!!_ Their narrator groaned. _GIVE ME MY KNIFE THEN, YOU BIG SOFTIE!! I'LL DO IT!_

Frisk froze. _Wait...your knife?_

 _Shut up!_ The voice snapped, bursting with energy and taking control of Frisk's arm. _I'm finishing this!!_

 _Stop..!_ Frisk pleaded, but it was too late. Their narrator had taken their tiny window of control and delivered the final blow to Flowey's sickening form. 

Flowey gave out an animalistic howl, his screen glitching in and out of focus. 

"No...NO...!!!" Flowey bellowed. "This CAN'T be happening!!! You...YOU..."

 A fateful ding sounded, and Frisk felt their heart skip a beat. 

**FILE 3 LOADED**

Flowey's HP instantly boosted back up to full, and he gave Frisk and their narrator a smarmy grin. 

"You IDIOT."

Frisk only had a second to register what was happening before everything blacked out. 

And then came back. 

And blacked out again.

Over and over and over and over, Frisk felt themself die and then get ripped back into their last moments as Flowey loaded and reloaded File 3. Then, a change of pace, Flowey surrounded Frisk with a circle of bullets and laughed down at them.

**FILE 3 SAVED**

"Hee hee hee," Flowey giggled. Frisk beat against the sides of the bullets, but just got sent back to the center of the battlefield. "Did you REALLY think...You could defeat ME!? I am the GOD of this world. And YOU!? You're HOPELESS. Hopeless and alone..."

The way Flowey said 'you', like before, felt like he wasn't even talking to Frisk anymore; and Frisk could tell this wasn't just a feeling they had, because they could feel their narrator bristle at Flowey's words.

 _Flowey knows you!_ Frisk said to their narrator. _But how? And why does he-_

"Golly, that's right!" Flowey chirped, his flower face popping onto the screen as he interrupted Frisk's thoughts. "Your WORTHLESS friends can't save you now! Call for help. I dare you. Cry into the darkness! 'Mommy! Daddy! Somebody help!' See what good it does you!"

 _That voice he just made...that face...Do you know who that was...?_ Frisk asked their narrator. But the voice wasn't talking anymore; Frisk could feel them roiling with guilt and anxiety though, which all but answered the question for them.   

Not knowing what else to do to move forward, Frisk hit the act button Flowey had stuck them on. Heaving a breath of air, they called out the names of everyone they knew. They called for their human companions, for the monsters they'd befriends, they even called for Toriel....

"...But nobody came..." Flowey grinned. "Boy! What a shame! Nobody else...Is gonna get to see you DIE!!!" 

Frisk panicked as the bullets pulled back, preparing to strike. Flowey cackled as the attack closed in around Frisk. Squeezing their eyes shut, Frisk waited for the final blow. 

But nothing happened. 

Frisk's eyes flew open and they looked around. Checking their HP, Frisk found it had completely filled up. Wrinkling their brow, they looked up to Flowey for an explanation. Was he playing another game? Or was it...?

"What? How'd you...?" Flowey gaped, just as shocked as Frisk. "Well, I'll just..."

Flowey tried to load one of his save files, but only the words **LOAD FAILED** blared in the corner.

"Wh..." Flowey faltered. "Where are my powers!?" 

Just as he got his question out, a bright flash burned out Flowey's and Frisk's vision for an instant. When everything came back into focus, Frisk's mouth dropped open. The other human souls had broken free of Flowey's coils and were hovering around him threateningly. 

"The souls...?" Flowey murmured. "What are they doing?" 

Frisk watched, frozen with awe, as their friends' souls swarmed around Flowey. Colors warped and streaked across the battlefield; static building to a crescendo like a failed computer program. 

"NO!!! NO!!!!" Flowey wailed. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!"

The orange soul burst from the group, slamming directly into Flowey's television screen. An enormous cracked laced up the glass of the old television set, and Flowey's roars grew. 

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!!!" 

Frisk couldn't be sure, but they swore they heard the blue soul give a familiar scoff of dismissal as it swarmed around Flowey's failing form. 

"STOP!! STOP IT!!!" Flowey screamed, his voice ragged with frustration. Frisk stared, eyes glued open, as Flowey and the souls began to become enveloped in a bright white light. "STOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!" 

The white swallowed everything; all of the noise cut out. Frisk couldn't take account of anything.

But then, the bright light gave way to darkness. A blur of white noise clouded Frisk's ears. Blinking the glare from their eyes, Frisk saw that Flowey was before them. 

He wasn't in his Omega form any longer. He wasn't even his regular perky, yellow blossom form with a vindictive smirk sneering out to meet Frisk. He was wilted, bent away from Frisk's gaze. Frisk struggled with what they were supposed to do when...

Two options popped up. 

Fight or Mercy

Frisk stared at the two options. They knew they should have wanted to kill Flowey right then and there, and a part of them did want to get revenge for everything he'd done to them. But they also felt deep down that if they were to kill Flowey, they would just end up proving his point. _In this world it's kill or be killed._ Frisk murmured to themself, turning the dagger over in their hands. 

 _...But I've gotten this far without killing anyone, haven't I?_  

Tucking the dagger away, Frisk walked to the mercy button and pressed it. 

Flowey jolted, lifting his head a little bit to glance at Frisk. 

"...What are you doing?" he asked, his voice monotone with complacency. "Do you really think I've learned anything from this? No." 

Frisk pursed their lips and hit mercy again. 

"Sparing me won't change anything. Your friends will still be dead and monsters will still be trapped down here," Flowey said. "Killing me is the only way to end this." 

Frisk hit mercy again. 

"If you let me live..." Flowey rasped, his voice regaining some of its usual grime. "I'll come back." 

Frisk hit mercy. 

"I'll kill you," Flowey threatened. 

Frisk rolled their eyes, pressing mercy again. 

"I'll kill everyone!" Flowey's eyes widened. 

Frisk slammed the mercy button, staring Flowey down. 

"I'll kill everyone you love!" Flowey said, his face cracking as he bared his fangs. 

Mercy again. 

"..." Flowey furrowed his brow at Frisk, not saying anything. 

Frisk hit mercy again. 

"...?" Flowey still refused to accept Frisk's mercy. 

They hit the button again. 

"...why?" Flowey demanded, anger hollowing his voice. 

Frisk shrugged, pressing the button again. 

"...why are you being..." Flowey faltered, eyes going soft. "...so nice to me?" 

Frisk only smiled and pressed mercy again. 

"I can't understand," Flowey said, his voice breaking. 

Mercy. 

"I can't understand!" Flowey exclaimed, confusion tossing over his expression. 

Mercy.

"I just can't understand..." Flowey sobbed. 

The sounds of roots digging up followed by clunky footsteps; and then Flowey was gone. 

And Frisk was alone.

* * *

The directionless void finally broke away. Frisk found themself standing on a little grass clearing before a great doorway. 

 _The way out._ Frisk said, checking to see if the narrator had anything to say. But a miserable silence was the only thing Frisk could discern from them. 

Looking over their shoulder, Frisk saw that there was no way to go back the way they had come. Turning back to the gateway, Frisk attempted to stifle a sob building in their chest. Pressing their face into their hands, Frisk stood still where they were. They took a few deep breaths, steadying themself and looking back up to where they had to go. Taking that first wobbly step, Frisk began to move forward again. 

Alone, they went through the gateway.  


	27. An Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get one phonecall...

They couldn't register where they were. They didn't care about what was around them. For all Frisk cared, the space around them was just as empty as Flowey's world had been. They hardly bothered to look up from the ground anymore. Life continued to happen around them, but they just couldn't muster the energy to care about any of it. 

Their narrator seemed unhappy, too. They would talk to Frisk sometimes, foaming at the mouth with irritation at still being trapped in Frisk's head. Most of the time though, they were quiet; numbness radiating off of them like electricity from a light socket. Frisk could only reiterate how sorry they were that they had ended up stuck with them. 

Frisk missed their friends, missed having people around who cared about them for no reason other than they were caring people; but more than anything, Frisk missed having something worth working for. Months went by like that, a nondescript series of one nothing to another for the two of them; each day bleeding into the next with identical monotony. Until one day, they got a phone call. 

_Riiiiiing!!!_

The sharp cut of their phone ringing broke them out of their trance. They hadn't received so much as a text message since crossing the barrier. Reaching into their pocket, Frisk pulled out their phone and picked up the call. 

"heya," a familiar, deep voice spoke out. "...is anyone there...?" 

Frisk felt their heart jolt as they realized it was sans speaking on the other line, but they couldn't bring themself to speak. 

"well...just calling to say..." sans continued. "you made a snowman really happy."

Frisk's hand flew to their pocket, feeling the icy cold snowman piece still nestled at the bottom.

sans voice spoke up again after a moment. "...guess i should say something else too." 

Frisk hung onto everything sans was saying, heart pounding with emotion as he jabbered away. 

"so...it's been a while..." sans said. "the queen returned, and is now ruling over the underground. she's enstated a new policy...all the humans who fall down here will be treated not as enemies...but as friends. it's probably for the best, anyway. the other humans they, uh...well, you know...anyway, their souls seem to have disappeared. so, uh, that plan ain't happening any time soon." 

Frisk bit their lip, stifling the sobs they felt building so they wouldn't make a noise to alert sans that they were listening. 

"but even though people are heartbroken over the king...and things are looking grim for our freedom...the queen's trying her best not to let us give up hope. so, uh, hey..." sans spoke, his voice indicating that he could tell Frisk was listening. "if we're not giving up down here...don't give up wherever you are, ok? who knows how long it will take...but we will get out of here."

"SANS!!! WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO???"  

Frisk's heart clenched at the boom of Papyrus' voice. 

"oh, nobody," sans was replying. 

"WHAT!? NOBODY!?" Papyrus yelled. "CAN I TALK TO THEM TOO???" 

"here, knock yourself out." 

There was the shuffling noise of the phone being passed and then Papyrus' voice was booming out at a much closer range. 

"WAIT A SECOND...I RECOGNIZE THIS NUMBER!!!" Papyrus shouted. "ATTENTION, HUMAN!! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...AM NOW THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD!! IT'S EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DREAMED OF!! EXCEPT, INSTEAD OF FIGHTING, WE JUST WATER FLOWERS. SO THAT'S EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT." 

Frisk felt the ghost of a smile tug at the corner of their mouth.

"AND WE'RE HELPING DR. ALPHYS WITH HER RESEARCH!!" Papyrus continued. "SHE'S GONNA FIND A WAY TO GET US OUT OF HERE. UNDYNE IS HELPING HER TOO! THOUGH, TO BE HONEST, HER METHOD OF HELPING...SEEMS KIND OF...EXPLOSION-INDUCING. BUT I THINK ALPHYS LIKES HAVING HER AROUND...UH OH!!!" 

"Hey! What are you up to, punk!? Ngahhhhh!" Undyne's voice burst into the phone call, followed by a rustling noise.

"PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE PHONE!!" 

"Hey! Who's in charge here!?" 

"ME." 

"Oh...yeah, that's right!" Undyne hollered, redirecting her voice back to the phone. "I quit my job as leader of the Royal Guard. Actually, since we won't be fighting anymore...The Royal Guard totally disbanded. There's, uh, only one member now."

"BUT HE'S EXTREMELY GOOD!" Papyrus butted in. 

"Yeah!! He is!!! C'mere!!"

"PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!!"

There was a distant noise of scaly knuckles grating against bare bone, and then Undyne popped back into the conversation. 

"Anyways, now I'm working as Alphys' lab assistant," Undyne said. "We're gonna find a way out of this dump once and for all! Oh, yeah, and I'm a gym teacher at the queen's new school. Did you know I can bench-press seven children!?!? Awesome, right?"

Frisk thought distantly of cooking spaghetti with Undyne and how she had lifted them and the other six humans all at once; they wrestled down the memory, willing themself not to think of the friends they'd lost. Their narrator gave a disapproving grumble and Frisk challenged them to do something about it, uncharacteristically irritable.

"Hey," Undyne said, snapping Frisk back to the phone call. "I'm sorry about what happened with Asgore. After what he did to those other kids, I...You were just doing what you had to. It's not your fault he...Ah, darn it. I miss the big guy."

Frisk stared miserably at the ground, memories of the other humans flashing through their head. 

"Come on, Undyne! Snap out of it!" Undyne chided herself. "Uh, I guess I'll tell you how Alphys is doing. Well, she's the same as ever. Maybe a little more reclusive than normal. Seems like something's really bothering her...But she can get through it! I'm there supporting her!! That's what friends are for, right??"

Another long silence. 

"Hey, where-ever you are..." Undyne kept going, undeterred by Frisk's lack of response. "I hope it's better than here. It took a lot of sacrifice for you to get there...So, where-ever you are...You have to try to be happy, ok!?!? For our sakes! We'll feel better knowing our trouble was worth it. We're all with you! Everyone is! Even the queen! HEYYY!! WAIT a second!!" 

Then Undyne paused and turned her voice from the phone, but her words still boomed clearly through the receiver. 

"TORIEL! TORIEL!! Do you wanna...?" Undyne called out. Frisk froze up at the name, pulse hammering in their throat as they waited for her voice to come through next. 

"Heh, she says she's busy," Undyne said, much to Frisk's dismay. 

"BUT IF SHE KNEW WHO WE WERE TALKING TO..." Papyrus said. 

"we wouldn't get the phone back for at least a few hours," sans finished the thought. 

"WE HAVE THE MERCY TO SPARE YOU FROM HER!!" 

"But call back any time, ok?" Undyne piped up. "She'd love to talk."

"oh, whoops," sans said. "this thing's almost outta batteries. so, hate to cut this short, but...be seeing you, ok, buddy?" 

"BYE BYE FOR NOW!!" Papyrus called. 

"See ya, punk!" Undyne said. 

Then, the call was over. Frisk stood staring at their phone screen, feeling have in and half out of a dream. Tears welled up in their eyes and they didn't try to stop them this time. Crouching to the ground, Frisk wrapped their arms around their knees and buried their face from the world around them. They wanted to be happy, they wanted to not give up, they wanted to keep moving forward...but no one seemed to remember or care that they were just a kid. A sad, scared kid who'd lost everyone who'd cared about them and now only had a voice in their head that may or may not just be a figment of their imagination to keep them company. 

They sat like that for a while, wallowing in self-pity. Just when the world around them was going even darker, they heard the ground rustle and break in a familiar way. Lifting their head, Frisk saw Flowey pop up in front of them. 

They were too shocked to even ask how he'd managed to show up on the surface. They just sat and stared at the little flower, waiting for him to speak. 

"Why...?" Flowey asked, his voice small and confused. "Why did you let me go?"

Frisk looked down to the side and shrugged, silent tears slipping down their cheeks. Flowey cocked his head to the side and stared at them, almost managing to look concerned. 

"Don't you realize that being nice...just makes you get hurt?" Flowey asked. "Look at yourself. All of the humans you had with you are gone. They aren't coming back. You made all these great friends...But now, you'll probably never see them again. Not to mention how much they've been set back by you."

Frisk gave out a loud sniffle and pressed their cheek against their knees, not looking at Flowey. 

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Flowey smiled. "If you had just gone through without caring about anyone...You wouldn't have to feel bad now."

Frisk burrowed their head even further, hating how much they were agreeing with Flowey. 

"So I don't get it. If you really did everything the right way...Why did things still end up like this?" Flowey continued. "Why...? Is life really that unfair?" 

Frisk let out a shuddering breath, pushing their hair off their face and peering up over their knees to look at Flowey. 

"Say," Flowey spoke up. "What if I told you...I knew some way to get you a better ending? You'll have to load your SAVE file, and..."

Picking their head up, Frisk fixed Flowey with a quizzical look. 

"Well, in the meantime..." Flowey said. "Why don't you go see Dr. Alphys? It seems like you could have been better friends. Who knows...maybe she's got the key to your happiness...?"

Frisk opened their mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance. Flowey was done talking to them. All he had left to utter was a quick "See you soon." and then he was gone, back into the ground. 

And the world went black again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now officially have seven chapters left!!!


	28. Here We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Would u smeoch a lizerd??

Frisk woke up and they were back at their last save. They'd tried going back dozens of times in the past few months, but found the power had been nullified while on the surface. And now, all of a sudden, they were back in front of the doorway to the barrier...? They were glad to be back, but it all felt too convenient for their comfort.

In any case, their last save had been after their other human friends had gone through the doorway. Pressing their small hand to the doorway, they found the shadowy blockade was once again in place. Their palm shook as they pressed into the shrouded wall; knowing that, on the other side, their friends were being killed. Taking a steady breath, they remembered what Flowey had told them. Squaring their shoulders, they turned and bolted from the hallway. 

Frisk ran as fast as their legs could carry them; bolting back down through New Home, taking shortcuts and elevators to get around quicker. They passed through the CORE, barely even registering the blinks and glares of the lights as they went. Then, they began to walk back towards the MTT Resort when their phone began ringing. Frisk's heart leapt and they picked up the call.

"Hey...! Uh, this is Undyne..." Undyne's voice called out. Then, she turned to the side and began talking to an out of range Papyrus. "Shut up, Papyrus! This was YOUR idea!" 

Frisk smiled, happy to hear Undyne and Papyrus' banter again. 

"HUMAN!" Undyne shouted. "You have to deliver something for me! Uh, please? I'm at Snowdin in front of Papyrus'. See ya, punk!" 

Undyne hung up so fast Frisk didn't even have time to respond. Blinking at their phone, Frisk turned and kept walking. Passing through MTT Resort, Frisk came out at the quiet front of the hotel. Going down the stairs, Frisk took a sharp left and headed for the elevator.

Using the elevator, Frisk came back out at the very start of Hotland; by Alphys' lab. They tried knocking on the lab door, but no one answered. Giving a shrug, Frisk walked down to the River Person's dock. 

"Tra la la..." River Person sang as they rowed to Snowdin, Frisk in tow. "Why don't you sing with me? Tra la la."

River Person pulled up to the snowy banks of Snowdin, letting Frisk step off. They told Frisk to come again some time, and then Frisk was off towards Papyrus' house. 

On the main drag of Snowdin Town, Frisk spied Undyne and Papyrus standing side by side in front of his house. While they were still a long way off, Undyne caught sight of Frisk and gave them a huge smile. 

"Heya, punk!!" Undyne called as Frisk walked up to her. "Where're those other six brats!?"

Frisk froze, turning a sad look up to Undyne. 

"Oh..." Undyne looked to the side, biting her lip. "Um, so, I have a favor to ask you." 

Frisk nodded, glad for the change in subject. 

"Uuuuh, I...I need you to deliver this letter. To Dr. Alphys," Undyne said. 

Frisk raised an eyebrow and gestured to Undyne. 

"Huh!? Why don't I deliver it myself!?!?" Undyne derived, starting to blush. "...um...W-well...I-it's kind of personal, but we're friends...so...I'll t-tell you..."

Frisk leaned in, their curiosity piqued. Even their narrator seemed interested in Undyne's response and pattered excitedly at the back of Frisk's head. 

"Hotland SUUUUUUUCKS!!!!" Undyne exclaimed. "I don't wanna have to go over there!! So here you go." 

Undyne shoved a sealed envelope into Frisk's hands. 

"Oh, and if you read it..." Undyne said. "I'll KILL you. Thanks so much! You're the best!!" 

Stuffing the envelope in their pocket, Frisk turned to Papyrus and nodded towards Undyne. 

"UNDYNE WRITES A LOT OF LETTERS," Papyrus said. "BUT, SHE CAN NEVER SEEM TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS. SO WHEN SHE GOES TO DELIVER THEM HERSELF...SHE ALWAYS QUITS SO SHE CAN GO BACK AND REWRITE. THAT'S WHY SHE ASKED YOU! BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO STANDARDS!!!" 

Frisk felt their narrator erupt in a fit of giggling at that, and Frisk fought the urge to knock on their head just to tell their narrator to cut it out. Waving goodbye to Undyne and Papyrus, Frisk headed back up to River Person's dock. After telling River Person to take them back to Hotland, Frisk sat back and stared at the water as it rushed past. 

"Tra la la. The angel is coming..." River Person said. "Tra la la." 

Frisk sighed and sat back, thinking about Laurel writing down the prophecy of the angel in their notebook. Whatever it was they had to do with Alphys, Frisk was hoping it could get done fast enough in order to spare the others. After all, Flowey had said he'd give them a better ending...What kind of happy ending would it be if the six people they were trying to save still died?

 _You really think you can trust that flower?_ Their narrator murmured. 

 _What choice do I have?_ Frisk thought back. 

Their narrator didn't respond. 

* * *

Standing in front of the lab, Frisk realized the door had no mail slot. Crouching down, they slide the letter underneath the door and knocked. From within, they could hear Alphys receiving the letter. 

"O-oh n-no, is that another letter...?" Alphys' voice murmured. "I don't want to open it...C-can't I just slide it back out...?"

Frisk's shoulders sagged as they were faced with the prospect of Alphys not opening the letter. If they couldn't get Alphys involved in whatever scheme Flowey had in mind, how would they ever be able to get their better ending? But, just as they were losing hope, Alphys spoke up again.

"N...no...I can't keep doing this..." Alphys said. "I'll read this one." 

A pause. Frisk waited to hear her reaction to what Alphys had written. 

"Um..." Alphys said. "I-it's shut kind of strongly, isn't it? Wait a second..."

Frisk pressed an ear against the door and heard Alphys' feet putter a little bit aways, followed by the sound of a revving chainsaw. Then, silence as Alphys read the letter. 

Footsteps approached the door and Frisk bolted backwards, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping. Alphys opened the lab door, her eyes glued to the ground. 

"Hey, if this is a joke, it's..." Alphys trailed off as she realized it was Frisk standing in the doorway. Her eyebrows shot up and she began to blush; when she spoke, her voice was all shock and suppressed laughter. "Oh My God? Did YOU write this letter?"

Frisk cocked their head to the side, confused. 

"It wasn't signed, so, I had no idea who could have..." Alphys grinned. "Oh my god. Oh no. That's adorable..."

Looking around frantically, Frisk tried to decide how they should handle the situation. 

"And I h-had no idea you, um, wrote that way!" Alphys said. "It's surprising, too. After all the gross stuff I did...I s-see that you're all alone and...I don't really deserve to be forgiven. Much less, um...This? And so passionately, too."

Frisk clenched and unclenched their hands, not sure what to say.

"You know what, okay! I'll do it!!" Alphys smiled. "It's the least I can do to make it up to you!"

 _What is she talking about?_ Frisk wondered.  

"Y-yeah!" Alphys said. "Let's go on a date!" 

* * *

"Uhhh, sorry!" Alphys' voice called out while Frisk waited for the 'date' to start. "I'm still getting dressed!" 

After another moment, Alphys stepped into view. She'd taken off her usual dirty labcoat and put on a clean polka dot dress. She fidgeted nervously, assessing Frisk's reaction. 

"H-How do I look?" she asked. "My friend helped me pick out this dress. She's got a great sense of...Um, anyway! Let's do this thing!" 

Frisk moved to start the date, but Alphys suddenly waved her hands to stop them. 

"H-h-hey, w-w-wait! Actually, we still can't start the date yet!!!" Alphys said. "Umm, I've gotta give you items to raise your affection statistic, first! That'll increase the chance of a successful outcome to the date! Right...?" 

 _Does she realize you're like...nine years old?_ Frisk heard their narrator say; and they shrugged in response to both them and Alphys' questions.

"Anyway, d-don't worry! I'm prepared!" Alphys continued. "I-I've been stockpiling gifts in anticipation for a date like this!"

Alphys reached into her pocket. 

"F-First, I've got..." Alphys rummaged around, taking out a little bottle. "Some metal armor polish!"

Frisk felt their face scrunch up involuntarily, a mixture of both theirs and the narrator's confusion. 

"Um, maybe you can't use that," Alphys grinned nervously, putting the polish away and taking out a little tub of face cream. "But!! I also brought some waterproof cream for your scales!...Your, uh...Scales..."

 _I've got a feeling we weren't who she thought she'd be going on this date with..._ Frisk's narrator said.

 _'We'?_ Frisk smirked. _Last I checked, she was on this date with me._

_Well, I bet she'd rather be on it with Undyyyyne~_

Frisk rolled their eyes. _We don't know it's Undyne. There's plenty of fish monsters in the Royal G-_

"Uh, well, how about...This magical spear repair kit, that I..." Alphys trailed off at Frisk's bewildered expression, putting the repair kit away. "Um..."

 _Okay, so you were right._ Frisk shrugged. 

 _Thought you'd be used to it by now._ Their narrator laughed. 

"Hey, let's forget about the items!" Alphys exclaimed, sweat beading on her brow. "Let's just start the date!" 

Frisk nodded, yielding to Alphys to make the first move. But Alphys seemed to be waiting for Frisk to do something first. So, the two stood locked in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity. As the silence persisted, Alphys' face began to fall and sweat dotted along her face. 

"...um..." Alphys scrambled for a conversation topic. "Do you...like...Anime?"

 _...Anime?_ Their narrator asked, a breath of laughter stirring in their voice.

Frisk thought about Bell just then, remembering how they actually did like anime. Smiling at Alphys, Frisk nodded their head. 

"H-hey! Me too!!" Alphys smiled. Another silence pursued before Alphys thought of something else to say. "Hey! Let's!! Go somewhere!!! But where's a good place to go on a date...?"

Frisk tapped their chin and was about to suggest going to Grillby's, but Alphys jumped in before they could open their mouth. 

"I've got it!!!" Alphys exclaimed. "Let's go to the garbage dump!!"

* * *

"Here we are!" Alphys announced as she lead Frisk into the middle of the dump.

 _Boy, you really know how to pick 'em, Frisk._ Their narrator said, making a point of directing Frisk's eyes to a plastic bag that had become entangled around their ankles. 

"This is where Undyne and I come all the time..." Alphys said. "We find all sorts of great stuff here. Heh, she's really...Uh..." 

Alphys trailed off, her face going pale. Looking to the side, Alphys gave a noise of shock. 

"Oh no," Alphys said, pointing to her right. "That's her over there. I c-can't let her see me on a date with you!"

Frisk raised an eyebrow up at Alphys, looking between her and Undyne's oblivious silhouette. 

"W-why...?" Alphys asked for Frisk. "Because, uh...Well...Oh no, here she comes!" 

Alphys ran and hid behind a nearby trash can just as Undyne came walking up to Frisk. 

"Hey!!" Undyne greeted Frisk. "There you are!! I, uh, realized if you deliver that thing...It might be a bad idea. So I'm gonna do it!! Give it to me!!!" 

Frisk waggled their empty hands and shook their head. 

"Huh!? You don't have it!?" Undyne asked. "Nggaaahhhh!! Have you at least seen her!?"

Frisk pursed their lips and glanced to where Alphys was hiding; they could see her tail trembling as it jutted out from behind the trash can. Turning back to Undyne, Frisk shook their head. 

"No??? But she wasn't at home..." Undyne trailed off. "Where the heck could she be!?" 

Undyne stormed away, eyes scanning the dump for any signs of Alphys as she walked right past her. Once Undyne was out of eyeshot, Alphys came out of hiding and looked nervously at Frisk.

"Oh my god..." Alphys stammered. "W...well, I guess it's obvious, huh? I...uh...really like her. I mean, more than I like other people! I'm sorry. I j-just figured, y-you know...It's be f-fun to go on like, a cute kind of...Pretend date with you? T-To make you feel better?"

 _Did we get pity-dated by Dr. Alphys?_ Their narrator muttered. 

"Well, it sounds even worse when I put it like that," Alphys scratched behind her ear. "I'm sorry. I messed up again. Undyne's the person I, um...really want to go on a date with. But, I mean...She's way out of my league."

 _Think we did._ Frisk agreed with their narrator. 

"N-not that you aren't, um, cool!" Alphys said quickly. "B-but...Undyne...She's so confident...And strong...And funny...And I'm just a nobody. A fraud. I'm the royal scientist, but...All I've ever done is hurt people. I've told her so many lies, she thinks I'm...She thinks I'm a lot cooler than I actually am. If she gets close to me, she'll...She'll find out the truth about me. What should I do?" 

"You should..." Frisk bit at their fingernail. "You should tell her the truth, Alphys."

"The truth...?" Alphys repeated. "But if I tell her that, she'll hate me. Isn't it better this way? To live a lie where both people are happy...Or a truth where neither of us are? They say 'be yourself'. But I don't really like who 'myself' is. I'd rather just be whatever makes people like me. Eheheh..."

Frisk watched as Alphys' half-hearted laughter turned to a miserable grimace on her face. Looking to the ground, Dr. Alphys heaved a sigh. 

"No, you're right," she admitted. "Every day I'm scared...Scared what will happen if people learn the truth on their own. They'll all be hurt because of me. But how can I tell Undyne the tr...truth? I d-don't have the confidence...I'm going to mess it up! How can I practice!?" 

"Obviously, let's roleplay," Frisk's narrator scoffed. 

"R...Roleplay?" Alphys asked. 

 _Shit. Did I say that out loud?_ The narrator asked. Frisk nodded, their hands clapped to their mouth. 

"That actually sounds kind of fun!" Alphys smiled. "OK, which one of us will be Undyne?"

Frisk raised a finger and pointed at Alphys.

"M-m-me? Undyne???" Alphys blushed. "Uh, uh, uh, uh, ok! I'll say what I think she'd say, and you...ummm...You show me what I'm supposed to do!"

Alphys cleared her throat, getting into the role. When she next spoke, her voice was an exaggerated imitation of Undyne's.

"Ngahhh!!" Alphys began. "Hey, Alphys! You look cute today! Which I say often! But platonically because I would NEVER like you."

 _Haha. Hey, Frisk, say: 'Yo your one hot hotbaby.'_ Their narrator suggested. 

 _No._ Frisk rolled their eyes. 

"Hi Undyne!" Frisk began, the sound of their own voice sounding foreign to them. "Can we talk?" 

"Talk, to you? Hmm...I guess so," Alphys said. "I often seem excited to listen to you for some reason. I will make intent eye contact with you so you sweat while you talk. So, what is it?" 

 _Let me answer this one!!_ The narrator pleaded. 

 _No, you're just gonna treat it like a joke!_ Frisk said. 

 _Come oooonnnn!! This is the most fun thing we've done in months!!_ They whined. _Can't I just have one joke??_

Frisk sighed, but handed the reigns over to their narrator. 

"Alphys gives u a kiss..." they said, batting Frisk's eyelashes and smiling flirtatiously. 

"WH-WHAT!? I WOULD NEVER..." Alphys yelled, breaking character momentarily before snapping back into their Undyne voice. "Alphys! What are you d-doing! I s-say, pushing you away from me...You sh-shouldn't k-kiss me...!!"

Frisk could feel their narrator chuckling at their handiwork, and Frisk couldn't help but smile at how happy their joke had made them. 

"B-but," Alphys continued, eyes going wide. "Y-you're so good at it...B-b-b-because of what you learned from th-those d-d-dating simulation games...I...I c-c-can't help but k-kiss you back...NGAAHHHH!!" 

Frisk and their narrator both jumped at the sudden rise in volume in Alphys' voice. 

"NGAAHH!!" Alphys repeated, throwing her arms in the air. "I'M UNDYNE AND I'M PILING ON THE SMOOCHES!!!" 

"WHAT did you just say?" Undyne zipped into view. 

"U...Undyne!" Alphys squeaked. "I...was...just..."

"Hey, woah, wait a second!" Undyne interrupted. "Your outfit's really cute! What's the occasion?"

Undyne glanced between Frisk and Alphys. 

"Wait a second," she said. "Are you two...On a date?" 

"UHHH, YES!!" Alphys said. 

Undyne's smile stretched wider, but her eyes grew dangerously large as she stared at Frisk. 

"I mean, UHHH NO!" Alphys amended. "I mean, we were, but...I mean, actually we were only romantically roleplaying as you!"

"WHAT???" Undyne furrowed her brow. 

"I MEAN!!!" Alphys began to sweat. "I mean...Undyne...I...I've been lying to you!" 

"WHAT??? ABOUT WHAT???" Undyne demanded.

"About...well...Everything!" Alphys said, moving closer to Undyne. "I told you that seaweed was like...scientifically important...Really, I just...I just use it to make ice cream! And those human history books I keep reading...Those are just dorky comic books! And the history movies...those...those are just, uh, anime! They aren't real! And that time I told you I was busy with work on the phone...I...Was just eating frozen yogurt in my pajamas! That time I..."

"Alphys," Undyne said, cutting the smaller monster off. 

"I...I just wanted to impress you!" Alphys said. "I just wanted you to think I was smart and cool. That I wasn't some...nerdy loser."

"Alphys," Undyne repeated, patting Alphys' head. 

"Undyne, I..." Alphys stammered. "I really think you're neat, OK..." 

"Alphys," Undyne said, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around Alphys as she patted her back. "Shh...Shhhhh..."

Then, Undyne stood up; and, with a mighty heave of her arms, slam dunked Alphys into the nearest trashcan. 

"Alphys!" Undyne shouted. "I...think you're neat, too, I guess. But you've gotta realize...Most of what you just said really doesn't matter to me. I don't care if you're watching kid cartoons or reading history books. To me, ALL of that stuff is just NERDY CRAP! What I like about you is that you're PASSIONATE! You're ANALYTICAL!! It doesn't matter what it is. YOU CARE ABOUT IT!! 100-PERCENT!! AT MAXIMUM POWER!!!...so, you don't have to lie to me. I don't want you to have to lie to anyone anymore. Alphys...I want to help you become happy with who you are! And I know just the training you need to do that!" 

"Undyne..." Alphys peeked out of the trash. "You...You're gonna train me?" 

"Pfffft, what?" Undyne exclaimed. "ME?" 

Then, rising from the piles of trash, Papyrus came into view. 

"Nah," Undyne shrugged. "I'm gonna get Papyrus to do it." 

"GET THOSE BONES SHAKIN'!!!" Papyrus leapt from the trash, landing in between Undyne and Alphys. "IT'S TIME TO JOG 100 LAPS, HOOTING ABOUT HOW GREAT WE ARE!!!"

"Ready? I'm about to start the timer!" Undyne announced. 

"U-Undyne..." Alphys said. "I'll do my best...!" 

Together, Papyrus and Alphys ran off to the side and started doing laps. While they bolted around the dump, Undyne turned back to Frisk. 

"OH MY GOD!!!" Undyne shouted. "She was kidding, right!? Those cartoons...those comics...Those are still REAL, right!? ANIME IS REAL, RIGHT!?!?!?" 

"Anime is REAL!" Frisk's narrator shouted out, no hesitation. 

"HA HA HAH AHAH!!" Undyne threw her head back laughing. "I KNEW IT!!! GIGANTIC SWORDS!!! MAGICAL PRINCESSES!!! HERE I COME!!!" 

Settling down, Undyne gave Frisk an easy smile. 

"Uhh, thanks for taking care of Alphys," she said. "I didn't get to say what I wanted to, but things seem like they're going to get better for her. Well, I gotta go catch up with them! Later!" 

Undyne departed, leaving Frisk alone in the patch of golden flowers growing in the dump. Climbing out of the bed of flowers, Frisk trudged through the dump. Looking around at the piles of garbage, Frisk felt a pang of nostalgia as they remembered going through there with the other six children. 

 _Partaking in worthless garbage fills you with determination._ Their narrator drawled. 

Frisk continued, trying to make their way out of the dump and down to River Person. They passed familiar heaps of junk, eyeballing the items Hop had picked up but abandoned when they'd gotten too heavy. Passing the old rusted bike, Frisk gave the horn a sad honk.

As they were about to reach the exit, they heard their phone ring. 

"HOWDY!" Papyrus' voice shouted out when they picked up. "IF IT ISN'T MY GOOD FRIEND, WHO TRUSTS ME. THIS IS PAPYRUS. YOUR ALSO MUTUAL FRIEND. ALPHYS AND I FINISHED OUR TRAINING EARLY. VERY EARLY. SO I SENT HER HOME. VERY HOME. UH...NOW, I FEEL STRONGLY AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON THAT YOU SHOULD ALSO GO...THERE. TO HER. LAB...HOUSE. I HAVE ONLY GOOD FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. GOODBYE." 

 _Well, that was suspicious._ Their narrator said. 

 _What do you think? Should we go?_ Frisk asked. 

 _Eh. Not like we've got much else to do._  

Heading out of the dump, Frisk passed through the Quiet Area and made their way down to River Person's dock. Climbing aboard the gondola, they told them that they wanted to go to Hotland. 

"Tra la la..." River Person hummed as they paddled upstream. "Humans, monsters...Flowers." 

* * *

Walking through the lab, Frisk immediately determined that Alphys wasn't there; or, if she was, it wasn't anywhere Frisk could see. They'd even venture upstairs, passing through the upper levels of Alphys' lab. They'd found Mettaton's work-in-progress body and a stack of dusty, unopened letters; but no sign of Alphys. Coming downstairs, they walked the length of the main lab floor and found something they hadn't noticed before. 

It was a note. Frisk had a little difficulty reading it, because of the handwriting; but their narrator read the scribbling aloud for them. 

"Hey," their narrator began, Frisk letting them use their voice. "Thanks for your help back there. You guys...Your support really means a lot to me. But...As difficult as it is to say this...You guys alone can't magically make my own problems go away. I want to be a better person. I don't want to be afraid anymore. And for that to happen, I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I'm going to start doing that now. I want to be clear. This isn't anyone else's problem but mine. But if you don't ever hear from me again...If you want to know 'the truth.' Enter the door to the north of this note. You all at least deserve to know what I did."

 _That's all she wrote._ The narrator murmured.  

Frisk glanced to the north door. Unlike in the past, the door was open; they'd always thought it was a bathroom, but now it seemed to be another of Alphys' secrets she kept hidden in plain sight. 

Taking a deep breath, Frisk walked up to the doorway and went inside. 

Past the doorway, they found an elevator compartment. Wrinkling their brow, Frisk reached out and pressed one of the buttons. The doors whooshed shut behind them and the elevator began to descend. A few seconds into the ride, though, there was a disconnecting noise, like unplugging an earphone jack in the middle of a song. The elevator began to plummet, tossing Frisk around like a ragdoll. 

**WARNING! WARNING!**

**ELEVATOR LOSING POWER!**

**EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!**

**ALTITUDE DROPPING!**

Frisk slammed their head against the elevator floor as they were knocked off their feet; the force from the blow sending a bright flash of white across their eyelids, making them lose all sense of bearing. Then, the elevator threw them back and smashed them into the wall; causing them to black out.

A loud crashing noise and rough jolt awakened Frisk from their discombobulated state. Pushing themself off the ground, they found the elevator had indeed lost power and they couldn't see a thing. As they blindly stumbled around the pitch black elevator compartment, there came a whooshing noise. The elevator doors had opened. 


	29. Amalgam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I don't like the True Lab

**ENTRY NUMBER 1**

**This is it...**

**Time to do what the King has asked me to do.** **I will create the power to free us all.**

**I will unleash the power of the SOUL.**

Frisk peered up at the green text glowing on the little screen. Similar screens dotted the walls of the grimy, dark hallways the elevator had opened onto. Stepping up to the next screen, they read the text as it lit up. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 2**

**The barrier is locked by SOUL power. Unfortunately, this power can not be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now...**

**The SOULs of monsters.**

A chill went up Frisk's spine. Dread knotted in their stomach as they turned and read the next screen.

**ENTRY NUMBER 3**

**But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power... Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death.**

**If only I could make a monster's SOUL last...**

Frisk felt their narrator shrivel away from the words, a strong aura of anxiety coursing from where they nestled at the back of Frisk's head. 

 _What's wrong?_ Frisk asked gently. 

 _I don't...I don't like this place..._ The narrator said.

 _It's okay. Nothing bad's gonna happen._ Frisk thought, trying to calm the little voice down. 

The next screen broke the sequence. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 5**

**I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOUL.**

**I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death.**

**The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power...**

**"Determination."**

_The human soul...?_ Frisk grimaced at the words. _Do they mean the first human?_

 _...Yeah._ Their narrator muttered. 

 _Determination._ Frisk repeated in their head. _Like you're always saying._

 _Yep._ Their narrator sighed. _Sure is a coincidence._

 _Hey..._ Frisk thought suddenly. _I never asked your name._

_I don't have one anymore._

* * *

_Regular old popato chisps._ The little voice joked half-heartedly at the bag of chips Frisk had just bought from the ancient vending machine. 

Frisk smiled, happy their narrator was still talking to them. They could feel how uncomfortable they were down here, and it just kept getting increasingly more so as they got deeper and deeper into the lab. 

They'd read the note on the ground, and deciphered that they had to unlock the center door to restore the elevator's power. Heading up to the left, Frisk decided to search for the corresponding keys and switches to the door. There was another screen waiting for them along the wall. If their narrator had eyes of their own, Frisk felt they would have squeezed them shut as they read. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 6**

**Asgore asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then...**

**Freedom might be closer than we all thought.**

Frisk grimaced and kept walking, coming into a room laden with sticky operation tables. Another screen lit up, and Frisk had to force themself to read it. When they did, they found it was out of place as well. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 9**

**things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so I can't get the SOULs. i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening.**

**what do i do?**

Turning away from the screen, Frisk wandered around the room. At the far end, they found three sinks. Reaching out, they turned each of the faucets to see if they still worked. Water gushed from the first two with no problem, but the third one was jammed up. Frisk stepped back as a white, goopy substance began to eek from the tap. 

The substance wasn't quite liquid and wasn't quite solid; it looked like fog, but it slopped around the sink like it was sticking to each surface it touched. As Frisk watched, a face peered out from the blob of white and smiled at Frisk. Then, the blob expanded and branched off two more faces that melted together. Frisk gasped and tried to run; but, in that instant, their soul got dragged into battle with the amalgamate. 

The monsters before them garbled incoherently, each of them a mass of eyes and dial tones. Reaching out, Frisk checked what they could do to help them. 

 _No data available._ Their narrator said. 

White dots began to spring up under Frisk's feet. After an instant, the white dots expanded into blobby faces that grinned and overlapped each other. Frisk dodged to avoid them. Thankfully, the attacks were easy enough to avoid and they managed to get through the attack without getting hit. 

 _What should I do!?_ Frisk panicked as the attack ended. 

 _Hell if I know..._ Their narrator scoffed. _Try calling it._

Frisk took out their cell phone to try and make a call, and heard voices coming through the receiver. 

"Come join the fun!" the monster heads called out. 

The white dots sprang up again. Frisk got hit once in the arm, but was otherwise unharmed. When it was their turn again, they refused the offer to 'join the fun'. 

"Be seeing you," one said. 

"It's a real get together," another muttered. 

"Lorem ipsum docet," the third intoned. 

The white dots sprang up again. Frisk dodged out of the way. The attack ended. 

 _Seems like they don't care anymore._ Their narrator said. 

Reaching out, Frisk spared the amalgamate. The battle ended and the monsters disappeared. In their place, there was a red key laying in the sink. Frisk picked up the key and put it on their phone's chain. 

They headed up to the back room and found nothing but an empty plug embedded into the wall. Holding the key from the sink in their hand, Frisk tried to put it in the slot. The red key fit perfectly, slipping in with a click.

Heading back to the room with the center door, Frisk walked up to the door in the right corner. Where it was locked before, it now slid open with a whoosh and let Frisk pass to the next area.

**ENTRY NUMBER 12**

**nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination."**

**i want this to work.**

**ENTRY NUMBER 13**

**one of the bodies opened its eyes.**

Frisk passed by the screens, reading them quickly so their narrator wouldn't have to look at them for too long. The room they found beyond the hallway was full of beds, all lined up in neat rows. There was an empty dog food bowl in the corner, and Frisk thought of the bag of kibble in Alphys' lab. 

Frisk felt uneasy staring at the beds, wondering who all slept in them. They glanced at one with the covers tucked down. 

 _Looks comfortable._ Their narrator said. _Wanna lie down?_

 _Uhh..._ Frisk hesitated. _I think I'll pass._

 _You big baby._ They taunted. 

 _Shut up._ Frisk rolled their eyes, walking up to a different bed. _Do these covers look weird to you?_

 _There's something under the sheets._ Their narrator observed. _Check it out?_

Frisk shrugged and pulled the sheets back. Underneath the blankets, there was nothing but a yellow key glinting against the fitted sheet. Taking the key, Frisk put it on their keychain. 

Walking up to the back wall, Frisk read another screen of green text. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 14**

**Everyone that had fallen down...has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...?**

_Guess that explains the weird goop monster._ The narrator said. 

 _Yeah, but...How'd they get all goopy?_ Frisk wondered. 

Moving on, Frisk headed to the hallway that lead to the right. Passing into the next space, Frisk found themself in a room lined with mirrors. Again, there was a screen of text waiting for them.

**ENTRY NUMBER 7**

**We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL...So then...What about something that's neither human nor monster?**

_Humans...monsters..._ The narrator hummed as Frisk turned around.

_...Flowers._

Frisk turned around and saw that, spread on the long table before them, was an array of potted golden flowers. Turning away from the flowers, Frisk read the next screen.

**ENTRY NUMBER 10**

**experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go...**

_Wonder who the vessel was?_ Frisk thought.

 _Do you really not have any idea?_ Their narrator asked.

 _Well, who do you think it is?_ Frisk challenged, but their narrator wouldn't answer. 

Frisk sighed and kept walking, heading for the doorway at the back of the room. They passed a long panel of mirrors, barely glancing at their reflection as they did so. Just as they reached the end of the mirrors, a raspy cackle sounded from between the cracks of the mirrors. Another amalgamate oozed from the mirror, spreading wide and reflecting Frisk's face back to them from within the pit of their stomach. 

Another battle began and Frisk scrambled for what to do. They recognized several of the fight options their narrator was pointing out, but none of them matched up with the amalgamate before them. The one thing that looked vaguely familiar was the one huge eye in the midst of the birdlike monster's face; so, Frisk picked on the monster first like they'd done to Astigmatism. 

 _Seemed effective._ Their narrator murmured. 

The amalgamate's attack began; but it was just a tall white figure standing at one end of the battlefield. As Frisk stared at the figure, butterflies swarmed down and started devouring the figure's head. Despite being horrified, the butterflies clued Frisk into what move they should be making next. 

When it was their turn, Frisk immediately dove down to their knees and prayed for safety just like Robin had in the CORE when they were trying to protect them from Whimsalot. The monster seemed to remember its conscience. 

The figure returned for the next attack, this time spitting out the butterflies that had devoured their head. Frisk dove and leapt around the butterflies, getting nicked a few times but otherwise coming out unharmed. 

Frisk wasn't sure what to do next. Thinking back to the CORE, Frisk tried to remember the three monsters that had shown up together. There was Whimsalot and Astigmatism...and then...

Frisk grinned, reaching into their pocket and holding up their Snowman Piece for inspection. The snow remained unmelted even in Frisk's warm hands, mystifying the amalgamate. 

 _Reaper Bird seems to remember something._ Their narrator said. 

"Someone finally gets it," Reaper Bird said. 

"Ribbit Ribbit!" 

"Courage..."

The figure's head was back intact. But this time, instead of butterflies eating or flying to attack, the figure began walking towards Frisk. As they walked, their head detached and flew at them. Their head seemed to grow back as fast as it was taken off, and soon an armada of floating heads was flying at Frisk. They got pelted by a couple of the heads, wheezing as their lungs struggled to take in enough air. 

 _Reaper Bird seems placated._ Their narrator said as the attack ended. 

Frisk spared Reaper Bird, and the amalgamate vanished. 

* * *

**ENTRY NUMBER 15**

**Seems like this research was a dead end... But at least we got a happy ending out of it...?**

**I sent the SOULS and the vessel back to Asgore. And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive.**

**I'll send everyone back tomorrow. :)**

**ENTRY NUMBER 16**

**no No NO NO NO NO NO**

Frisk rubbed the back of their neck, thinking of all of the amalgamates they'd faced. Obviously, none of these monsters had gotten to go home. Sighing, Frisk kept walking down the hall. They came to a doorway a little ways up the hall and turned into it. 

They came into another long hallway. There was nothing in it except for a grimy shower curtain at the back. Frisk squinted and swore they could see something...or someone...moving back and forth behind there. 

 _L-Let's turn around._ Frisk suggested.

_What? How come?_

_I just...I don't think there's anything worth checking out in here..._ Frisk said. 

_Frisk, if you're scared of a couple of specters, do I have some news for you._

_What's that supposed to mean!?_ Frisk furrowed their brows. 

 _Nothing, nothing!_ Their narrator said hurriedly. _Just go check it out, alright? Nothing's gonna happen._

Making a noise of distress, Frisk began to walk towards the curtain. The closer they drew to it, the faster the figure behind the curtain seemed to move. Reaching the back of the room, Frisk stretched out a shaking hand and touched the mildew riddled curtain. Closing their eyes, Frisk moved to draw back the curtain.

 _There's a green key laying in the bathtub._ Their narrator said when Frisk wouldn't open their eyes. 

 _You're tricking me!_ Frisk insisted. 

 _Wh-What!? Why would I trick you?_ They replied. _Hey, pie-for-brains, haven't you noticed how no one's attacking you?_

Peeking one eye open, Frisk saw that there were no monsters in the bathtub, just a green key. Frisk sighed in relief, taking the key and putting it on their keychain.

 _Okay, so you were telling the truth._ Frisk admitted. 

 _Funny how that works._ Their narrator scoffed, an eye roll implicit in their tone.

The next room held a huge, menacing machine. It looked a bit like a crow's skull, with tubes shooting out of the back and into the wall. The longer Frisk stared at the machine, the more Frisk realized what it really reminded them of. 

 _That thing...looks like Flowey did when he..._ Frisk thought. _What is going on?_

Turning to their right, Frisk headed up into the next room in a daze. When they stepped inside, Frisk gave a gasp at what they saw. Sitting in the middle of the room, was the television set that Flowey had used as his face when he'd absorbed the human souls. 

Tearing their gaze away from the television, Frisk moved up the little screen on the wall where green text was lighting up. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 4**

**I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes.**

**I don't feel like Asgore's watched them...**

**I don't think he should.**

Frisk felt their narrator freeze up, panic coursing into Frisk's thoughts as they reacted to their constant companion's distress. 

 _What's wrong...?_ Frisk asked. 

But their narrator wouldn't answer. 

Moving to the other side of the room, Frisk slipped the yellow key into its slot on the wall. Then, Frisk turned back to the T.V. set. Walking over, Frisk spied a VHS player with a few tapes picked out next to it. The tapes were labeled in a specific order. Picking up the tape labeled "Tape 1", Frisk pushed it into the player and waited while the screen fuzzed to life. There wasn't any visual, just a black screen with white noise blurring into the speakers.

"Pssst, Gorey, wake up," a familiar, maternal voice spoke out. Frisk felt their narrator stir a bit at the voice.

"Mmm? What is it, dear?" another voice, which Frisk recognized as Asgore's, spoke out. "...er, and why do you have that video camera?"

"Shush! I want to get your reaction. Gorey, dearest. What is my favorite vegetable?"

"Hmmm...Carrots, right?"

"No no no! My favorite vegetable is... Eda-MOM-e," Toriel's voice laughed. "...get it???"

The narrator laughed a bit at the pun, in spite of everything.

"...Go back to bed, dear."

"No no!! Not yet! Hee hee hee. Now, If I were a dog, what breed of dog would I be?"

"Hmmm... I don't know, honey. What kind of dog would you be?"

"I would be...A MOMERANIAN."

"Hohoho!" Asgore laughed. "You sure are excited to have this child. You know, if you keep making jokes like this... One day, you could be... ... a famous MOMedian."

"...Well, I am going to bed."

"Hey! Come on Tori! That one was funny!"

"Hahaha, I know. I am just teasing you. Goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight, honey."

"...Oh dear, perhaps it is too dark in here for the video to come out."

The video ended. Picking up Tape 2, Frisk pushed the next video into the player. 

"Okay, Chara, are you ready? Do your creepy face!"

Frisk's narrator jolted at the back of their head when they heard the soft voice in the video, and Frisk felt their own heart pounding in response to their anxiety. Their narrator squirmed as the video continued.

"AHHHHH!!" the soft voice faked a terrified scream. "Hee hee hee! Oh! Wait! I had the lens cap on...What!? You're not gonna do it again...? Come on, quit tricking me! Haha!"

The video ended and Frisk waited for their narrator to say something, anything. They were starting to put the puzzle pieces together on their own, but they wanted their narrator to be able to tell them. 

When they didn't say anything in response, Frisk just put Tape 3 in. Black screen again.

"Howdy, Chara! Smile for the camera!"

Frisk's narrator was in turmoil, their pain manifesting as one of the worst headaches Frisk had ever experienced. 

"Ha, this time I got YOU! I left the cap on...ON PURPOSE! Now you're smiling for noooo reason! Hee hee hee," the little voice giggled.

 _Please, calm down._ Frisk soothed their narrator. _It's alright. You're safe. It's just a video._

"What? Oh, yeah, I remember," the voice on the tape continued. "When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter...But we accidentally put in buttercups instead. Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did...Um, anyway, where are you going with this? Huh? Turn off the camera...? OK."

 _Do you want me to stop?_ Frisk asked their narrator. _We can stop right now if you want._

No response. Frisk bit their lip and put Tape 4 in. 

"I... I don't like this idea, Chara," the voice spoke out from a dark screen again. "Wh.. what? N-no, I'm not... big kids don't cry."

The shame pounding from the narrator was palpable. Frisk didn't know how to help them, they wouldn't tell them what was wrong. Wouldn't tell them how to help them. 

"Yeah, you're right," the voice continued on screen. "No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never! Y... yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers."

The last video had no images either. This one was the hardest for Frisk to watch, and they could feel their narrator sick with guilt at the back of their head as the playback rolled.

"Chara..." Toriel's voice spoke, gentle and concerned. "Can you hear me? We want you to wake up..."

Frisk chewed on their lip so hard they thought they were going to tear it open.

"Chara!" Asgore's voice called out. "You have to stay determined! You can't give up! You are the future of humans and monsters..."

Something about that phrase was eerily familiar to Frisk; but they were afraid if they pressed their narrator about it, things would only get worse. 

"... Psst...Chara..." the soft voice from before whispered. "Please... Wake up... I don't like this plan anymore. I... I...no, I said...I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six... And we'll do it together, right?"

The video ended. Frisk stared at the blank television screen, eyes glued open.

 _...Are you alright?_ Frisk asked. _Th-That was you, wasn't it? You're Ch-_

 _Please..._ Their narrator whimpered. _Please, don't say it. Please, just leave me alone._

Sighing, Frisk turned away from the television and walked out of the room.

Back in the hallway with the strange machine, Frisk walked toward a checkpoint. 

 _Good as time as any to save, right?_ Frisk asked their narrator. Their shoulders drooped when they were met with no response, and reached out for the checkpoint.

But as they touched the checkpoint, a little smiling face peered out of the middle. Frisk backed away as the checkpoint engorged, taking on a humanoid form. 

Frisk got pulled into another battle. The smell of sweet lemons hung in the air. This amalgamate was easier to dismantle and see the separate monsters trapped within; Frisk could pick out parts of Shyren, Moldbygg, and...Aaron. 

Since they knew best how to spare Shyren, Frisk chose to hum first. Remembering Bell's lilting voice, they began to hum Shyren's song. 

Lemon Bread's body shook. 

"Welcome to my special hell," she said in a cacophony of voices, each one lapping over another. 

The attack began and Frisk found themself in a huge set of monstrous jaws. As the razor sharp teeth began to close in on them, Frisk spied one open spot in the gums of the beast. Running for the empty space, Frisk narrowly avoided getting chomped on. The process repeated a few times, and then Lemon Bread's turn was over. 

Next, Frisk rolled up their sleeves and flexed at the amalgamate. Lemon Bread's muscle began to shake.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked before beginning her attack. 

The jaws came gnashing down again. Frisk dove between empty tooth spaces, narrowly avoiding damage again. The turn ended. 

For their next move, Frisk stepped back and let Lemon Bread be. She seemed to remember something. 

"I've felt this before," Lemon Bread said. 

More teeth, but this time there were accompanied by a pair of eyes shooting out blue and orange spheres at Frisk while they were stuck between the two layers of fangs. Frisk tried to dodge and look to see which color the orbs were on before making a move, but the attack struck out too fast and Frisk couldn't help but get hit a few times. Thankfully, after the attack ended, Lemon Bread was ready to be spared; and Frisk obliged happily. 

With the path cleared, Frisk made their way up to the little screen next to the machine. They read the green text and saw that it labeled the machine as a "DT EXTRACTION MACHINE" and that it was inactive. Frisk gave the machine one last shudder before turning away and heading for the next room.

* * *

**ENTRY NUMBER 19**

**the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home.**

**what am i supposed to say?**

**i don't even answer the phone anymore.**

_Classic Alphys._ Frisk thought, trying to coax their narrator into a conversation about anything. But they wouldn't budge in their silence. Giving a sigh, Frisk walked to the next screen; passing between a line up of refrigerators as they went. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 20**

**asgore left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me.**

**thanks asgore.**

Frisk checked each refrigerator they passed by, finding each one to be empty. They read the next screen. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 21**

**i spend all my time at the garbage dump now**

**it's my element**

Frisk walked to the end of the refrigerators, heading up for the doorway at the back of the room. As they walked past the last refrigerator, it turned bright white and a little face popped into the middle of it. Frisk watched as the rectangular shape melted into another amalgamate. 

Frisk expected another strange battle as they felt their soul get tugged in by the amalgamate, but she seemed to be not all there. Or maybe...she was more present than the others had been? It was hard to tell what was positive behavior for the amalgamates to show; but looking at the one before them, Frisk felt an immense amount of sadness. They checked on the amalgamate and found that it seemed to be losing itself. 

"sn...ow...y..." the amalgamate stammered out. 

Her attack started; or, lack thereof. It was just one spinning disk looping lazily to the side of the battlefield. Frisk didn't even have to sidestep it. 

When it was their turn, Frisk cleared their throat and told a bad pun about snow. Hop had recounted their tale of doing battle with Snowdrake, and remembered that his nickname was 'Snowy.' 

The amalgamate's expression began to shift. 

"haha..." she said. "i...remember..."

Another heartbreakingly simple attack sputtered down. Frisk looked up with sad eyes and told another bad pun. The amalgamate's expression changed more. 

"haha...thank you...."

Another attack. Another pun. Another change. 

This time, though, instead of another attack; the amalgamate just faded away on her own. Completely calmed down. In her place, was a blue key. Putting it on their key chain, Frisk moved up to the back room.

* * *

Moving through the rest of the lab, Frisk put the keys in their corresponding slots. They'd passed through a mist-shrouded room which ended up holding a dog amalgamate. As they had battled Endogeny, Frisk couldn't help but think how jealous Hop would have been of them in that moment. After they'd spared the amalgamate, they'd come to pass another text screen. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 11**

**now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again.**

**...not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty...**

Frisk had sighed disappointedly when they'd read that, remembering how in shambles Mettaton had been after battling with Hop. 

After all of the keys were in place, Frisk went back to the center door and found it slid open easily for them as they approached. They walked through the door and found another elevator compartment. They tried pressing one of the buttons, but the power was shut off. They moved down the other hallway that branched off of the compartment. They passed a couple more text screens, but they didn't light up with green text as they passed.

Turning into the room at the end of the hall, Frisk walked towards what looked to be some strange sort of furnace. It seemed to be what controlled the elevator's power. Frisk reached out and turned it on, but immediately heard a shifting noise behind them as they did. Whipping around, Frisk saw all of the amalgamates making their way towards them.  

Frisk backed away, not sure what the amalgamates planned to do to them; they weren't sure they believed the amalgamates would kill them, but they weren't sure what else they would do instead. The amalgamates got closer and closer, until one reached out as if they wanted to touch Frisk's face. Frisk backed away, squeezing their eyes shut as the amalgamate reached one goopy hand towards them. 

"Hey!! Stop!!!" a familiar voice shouted out. 

Frisk's eyes popped open and immediately found Alphys puttering into the center of the room, slightly out of breath. 

"I got you guys some food, okay!?" she snapped at the amalgamates. 

The amalgamates made all manner of happy noises at that, slinking to the back of the room and leaving Frisk alone with Alphys. 

"Sorry about that..." Alphys apologized, glancing to the side. "They get kind of sassy when they don't get fed on time. I think they smelled the potato chips you had, and...Anyway! The power went out, and I've been trying to turn it back on! But it seems like you were one step ahead of me."

Frisk grinned, giving the generator a pat.

"This was probably just a big inconvenience for you..." Alphys said. "B-but I appreciate that you came here to back me up! As I said, I was afraid I might...Not come back..."

Frisk furrowed their brow, wondering what Alphys could mean. They looked to where the amalgamates were eating in the back of the room. 

"But that's not because of these guys or anything!" Alphys added on quickly. "I was just worried I would be too afraid...To tell the truth...That I might run away, or do something...Cowardly."

Frisk frowned, wondering if there was anything they could say to make this situation better. 

"Uh...I..." Alphys continued. "I supposed I owe you an explanation. As you probably know, Asgore asked me to study the nature of souls. During my research, I isolated a power I called 'determination'. I injected it into dying monsters so their souls would last after death. But the experiment failed. You see, unlike humans', monsters' bodies don't have enough...Physical matter to take those concentrations of 'determination.' Their bodies started to melt, and lost what physicality they had left. Pretty soon, all of the test subjects had melted together into...Those."

Alphys glanced to the amalgamates, guilt lacing across her face. 

"Seeing them like this, I knew..." Alphys said. "I couldn't tell their families about it. I couldn't tell anyone about it. No matter how much everyone was asking me. And I was too afraid to do anymore work, knowing...everything I'd done so far had been such a horrific failure."

Alphys looked to the ground, her face miserable. 

"...but now..." she said, a small smile spreading on her face. "Now, I've changed my mind about all this. I'm going to tell everyone what I've done. It's going to be hard. Being honest...Believing in myself...I'm sure there will be times where I'll struggle. I'm sure there will be times where I screw up again. But knowing, deep down, that I have friends to fall back on...I know it'll be a lot easier to stand on my own. Thank you. A-And...when you see your siblings again...tell them 'thank you' from me too."

Frisk felt sadness knot in their stomach as Alphys turned away, the amalgamates joining her at her sides. 

"Come on, guys," she said. "It's time for everyone to go home."

Marching ahead, Alphys left the room with the amalgamates and left Frisk alone. After a moment staring after them, Frisk walked out of the room too. 

They began making their way back down the hallway and passed the blank text screens on the wall. As they walked past though, the screens lit up. Not with green text like before, but with red. Red smiley faces burned out from the screen. Hesitantly, Frisk turned and read the first screen. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 8**

**I've chosen a candidate.**

**I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special.**

**The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left.**

**I wonder...**

**What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?**

Frisk's eyebrows raised in horror as they read the entry. Their pulse quickened as a smirking floral face flashed through their head, laughing and teasing them for their stupidity. Turning from the screen, Frisk walked to the next panel and peered at the entry out of the corner of their eye. 

**ENTRY NUMBER 18**

**the flower's gone.**

Tears welled in Frisk's eyes and they bolted down the hall, fear suddenly seizing their heart that Flowey was lurking right behind them. Coming into the elevator compartment, Frisk stopped and tried to catch their breath. As they stood hyperventilating, there came a sharp noise. 

Their phone was ringing.

Reaching down with one trembling hand, Frisk pulled their phone out of their pocket. Holding their breath, they picked up the call and pressed the phone to their ear. They waited for the caller to speak. When they did, Frisk felt a chill go up their spine. It was a voice they'd never heard before. 

And the call wasn't for them. 

"Chara..." the voice breathed out. "Are you there?"

For the first time since the video tapes, Frisk felt their narrator stir. They still wouldn't speak, but Frisk could tell they were listening. 

"It's been a long time, hasn't it...?" the caller continued. "But you've done well. Thanks to you, everything has fallen into place."

 _What's he talking about, Chara?_ Frisk demanded, using their narrator's name for the first time. 

But their narrator was too stunned to respond, they could only hear and receive whatever the caller was saying then. 

"Chara..." the voice said, anticipation and loneliness mixed into their tone.

Frisk felt their narrator waiting for the voice to say more, and then felt their dissatisfied hollowness at the words to come from the voice next. 

"See you soon." 

Before Frisk could ask anything more, the elevator's exits closed off and they were locked in the compartment. In an instant, Frisk felt the whole elevator roughly jerk upwards. They slammed face first into the floor, the smell of roughhewn carpet filling their nostrils and scraping their face. Flashes of red filled the compartment, alarms blared. Frisk struggled to get to their feet, but was immediately thrown back down. A bright flash of white cut across their vision, blocking out what happened next.

And then they were outside of the elevator, staring up at the mangled mess of vines jamming the doors shut. Looking from side to side, they recognized the drab gray hallways as the ones that led to New Home.

There was only one direction for them to go now.

Forward.

Only one destination left.

The End.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the actual end!! We've still got five more chapters left!


	30. Don't Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end.

Frisk walked back through New Home, taking the long way instead of using the elevators. No monsters came out to talk to them this time, no one else with them period. They trudged through the golden judgment hall and made their way to the hall that lead to the Throne Room. 

As they were walking up the plain gray hallway, something caught their eye down at the end of the pass they hadn't noticed before. There was another staircase leading downwards. Heading over, Frisk began to walk down the long stretch of stairs. 

Coming to the bottom, Frisk peered around the corner to see what was in the room. What they saw made them jump a little bit; but instead of running back the way they came, Frisk felt themself walk into the basement. Laid out before them, all in a row, were seven coffins. They were all the same standard size and had hearts imprinted on the front, each one a different color of the rainbow. 

The one at Frisk's feet was imprinted with a bright red heart. Peering at the front of the coffin, Frisk could also make out a name scribed on it.

'Chara.'

It was empty.

Looking up, Frisk gave the other coffins a sad look before turning and leaving the basement. 

 _Those ones could be empty too._ Frisk told themself as they trudged up the stairs. _We still...We still have time. Flowey promised a better ending, right?_

Coming back up to the hallway, Frisk walked briskly to the Throne Room. The room was empty when they entered, just them and the golden flowers existing quietly amongst the chirping birds from overhead. Frisk kept moving quickly, knowing that if they stopped one more time, they would never go back to the battle against Asgore. 

Passing into the next hallway, Frisk turned and walked to the gateway that lead to the barrier. They put a hand out to test whether or not they would be allowed to enter, and found their hand met no resistance. Taking one last deep breath, Frisk straightened their shoulders back and walked through the gateway. 

* * *

When Frisk entered the barrier, it was just like it had been before. Asgore stood with his back to them, his shoulders drooping and his frame shaking with contained sobs. Frisk felt a pang of despair settle in their heart as they realized nothing had changed yet. The others had still died.

"So, you are the last one..." Asgore said. "There was something keeping myself and the other humans trapped in this barrier...But I see that it has gone now..."

Frisk sighed, the dialogue was exactly as they had remembered it. 

"Human," Asgore said. "If there is any unfinished business you must attend to, do it now. Take however long you like. I will wait here for you."

Looking up to the king's cloaked back, Frisk let go of a heavy breath and shook their head. 

"I see," Asgore said. "Then, this is it." 

Asgore turned and smiled that same sad smile he had before down at Frisk. 

"Ready?" he asked, the seven glass cylinders coming up from the floor. 

Frisk felt their lip quiver as they looked at the six souls floating in their crystal prisons; but, still, they forced themself to give a tiny nod and get on with the battle. 

The battledome shrouded around the two of them, blocking out their surroundings completely.

"Human..." Asgore said, another pained smile spreading across his face as he looked at Frisk. "It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

Asgore bent his head, and Frisk prepared for him to pull out his trident again and destroy their mercy again. Everything was the same. This wasn't a better ending, there was nothing that had changed. Frisk felt so stupid for believing anything Flowey had told them. Setting their jaw, Frisk looked up and waited for Asgore to make his move. 

But, just as Asgore was about to begin the battle, something appeared beside him. 

A flame attack. 

Frisk barely had time to register their shock before the attack struck out and hit Asgore square in the side, successfully knocking him out of the way. Frisk's mouth hung open, their eyes welling with relieved tears as Toriel stepped into view; coming to Frisk's rescue like she had when they'd first fallen down. 

"What a miserable creature," she said, shaking her head at Asgore's discarded form. "Torturing such a poor, innocent, youth..."

Frisk's face felt numb, but they knew they were smiling as they looked up to their caretaker. 

"Do not be afraid, my child. It is I, Toriel, your friend and guardian," Toriel smiled. "At first, I thought I would let you children make your journey alone...But I could not stop worrying about all of you. Now, I...I see that I...I should have come sooner."

Frisk's face fell, eyes shifting to the six souls on the barrier floor. 

"Your journey must have been so treacherous," Toriel said, sobs catching in her voice as she thought of the children she couldn't save. "...and ultimately, it would burden you with a horrible choice. To leave this place, you would have to take the life of another person. You would have to defeat Asgore. However...I realized...I cannot allow that. It is not right to sacrifice someone simply to let someone leave here. Is that not what I have been trying to prevent this whole time?" 

Toriel's voice had gone quiet, her eyes turning to the six human souls that had been collected. 

"Enough lives have been wasted," she said. "So, for now, let us suspend this battle. As terrible as Asgore is...He deserves mercy, too."

Asgore struggled to his feet, walking over to Toriel with a hopeful smile on his face. 

"Tori..." he said, his frame so humbly lowered he was now a hair shorter than Toriel. "You came back...!"

Toriel's eyes livened with rage, sniffing dismissively at Asgore. 

"Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr!" she snapped. "You pathetic whelp. You have killed the other six of my children; therefore, I have no doubt you have heard this same statement from my eldest already. If you really wanted to free our kind, you could have gone through the barrier after you got one soul...taken six souls from the humans, then come back and freed everyone peacefully. But instead, you made everyone live in despair...Because you would rather wait here, meekly hoping these humans would never come."

"...Tori..." Asgore said, hanging his head in shame. "You're right...I am a miserable creature...but, do you think we can at least be friends again?" 

Toriel narrowed her eyes, sighing and giving Asgore a stern glare. 

"NO, Asgore!" she said with finality. Asgore burst into silent sobs, tears gushing down his face.  

"Ngahhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Undyne burst suddenly onto the scene, shocking Toriel. "ASGORE!!! Frisk! Nobody fight each other!!! Everyone's gonna make friends, or else I'll...!!! I'll..." 

Undyne trailed off, looking over to Toriel and freezing up in shock. 

"Hello," Toriel greeted her. "I am Toriel. Are you a friend of the humans? It is nice to meet you."

"Uh, yeah...!?" Undyne said, still a little unsure but offering a huge grin. "Nice to meet you too!"

Undyne crossed quickly to Asgore, peeking at Toriel out of the corner of her eye. 

"Hey, Asgore, is that your ex?" Undyne whispered to the king. Asgore nodded sadly. "Jeez. That's rough, buddy. And, wait a minute, where are those other six punks-" 

"H-Hey!" Alphys burst in next. "Nobody hurt each other!!"

"Oh!" Toriel smiled down at Alphys. "Are you another friend? I am Toriel. Hello!"

"Uh, h-h-hi!" Alphys gave a little wave. Then, she turned and whispered to Frisk. "There's two of them!?!?"

Frisk laughed a little bit, watching Alphys go stand by Undyne. 

"HEY!" a familiar loud voice called out, Papyrus stepping into view as well. "NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE...! THEN I'LL!!! BE FORCED!!! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!!!"

"Hello!" Toriel greeted Papyrus. 

"OH. HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY!!" Papyrus said. "PSST! HEY, FRISK...DID ASGORE SHAVE...? AND...CLONE HIMSELF????? AND...STEAL ROBIN'S CLOTHES!?!? SPEAKING OF WHICH...WHERE ARE THE OTHER HUMANS?"

"hey guys," sans spoke up, stepping in before Frisk could tell Papyrus what had happened to the others. "what's up?"

"That voice...!!" Toriel exclaimed, hustling over to sans. Asgore stared at the two of them, his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. "Hello. I think we may...know each other??"

"oh hey..." sans said. "i recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel. So nice to meet you."

"the name's sans," the small skeleton winked. "and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then...!" Toriel's eyes flew wide, and she turned to Papyrus. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you! Your brother has told me so much about you!" 

"WOWIE..." Papyrus blushed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM!!! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!" 

"Hey, Papyrus..." Toriel said. "What does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

"HMMM..." Papyrus shifted his eyes. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES???"

"No, silly!" Toriel chuckled, sharing a glance with sans. "A skeleton tiles his roof with...SHIN-gles!!!"

"I CHANGED MY MIND!!!" Papyrus shouted while Toriel and sans laughed at her pun. "THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!" 

"Come on, Asgore!" Undyne said, throwing an arm around a still-weepy Monster King. "It's gonna be OK! There are plenty of fish in the sea..." 

"Y-yeah, Asgore!!" Alphys agreed. "Undyne's totally right about that fish thing! Sometimes you've just got to, uh...S-stop going after furry boss monsters and, uh...Just get to know a really cute fish...? I-It's a metaphor."

"Well," Undyne grinned. "I think it's a good analogy."

"OH MY GOD!"

Everyone's eyes shot to Mettaton's leg, which had just made a special guest appearance. 

"WILL YOU TWO JUST **SMOOCH** ALREADY!?" he exclaimed. "THE AUDIENCE IS DYING FOR SOME ROMANTIC ACTION!!!"

"HEY, SHUT UP!!!" Undyne roared as Mettaton's leg disappeared. "Man, the nerve of that guy! Right, Alphys!??"

But Alphys wasn't agreeing. Sweat beaded her brow as she glanced to the floor. 

"Uh, Alphys???" Undyne repeated. 

"...No. He's right," Alphys said. "LET'S DO IT!" 

"??????????" Undyne blushed. "Well?? Uh??? I guess??? If you want to???? Then?? Don't hold anything back!!!" 

The two puckered their lips and began leaning for each other, inches away from locking a kiss when...

"W-wait!!" Toriel burst in between the two. "Not in front of the human!"

"Uhh, right!" Alphys blushed a deep crimson. "S-sorry, I got a little carried away there." 

"Hee hee hee," Toriel laughed, turning her gaze to Frisk. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while. But looking at all the great friends you have made...I think...I think you will be happy here." 

Frisk smiled. This ending was better, but it wasn't everything they had wanted. They wanted all of the humans to be alive to see their friends. They wanted the barrier to be broken. It was a better ending, but it wasn't the best one they could have gotten. 

"H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus..." Alphys spoke up. "YOU called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway...if I got here before you...How did you know how to call everybody?"

"LET'S JUST SAY..." Papyrus began. "A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

Alphys' face went milk white. "A tiny...flower?" 

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a familiar grotesque vine shot out and struck all of the monsters standing before Frisk. In a bright flash of light, they were all draped in thorny vines that struck sharply into their bodies. Frisk watched in horror as their friends flashed in streaks of damage to their HPs, their eyes turning back in their heads as they lost their presence of mind. 

An all-too-familiar rustle in the ground, and Flowey popped up to grin at Frisk. 

"You IDIOTS," Flowey giggled. "While you guys were having your little pow-wow...I took the human souls!"

Frisk glanced to the glass cylinders and saw them smashed open. Their eyes swam with tears as they looked back to Flowey. 

"Oho! Is that a flicker of emotion I'm seeing from you!?" Flowey smirked. "They way you all were cheering and celebrating...You had me convinced you didn't even care about those other six humans anymore! And now, not only are THOSE under my power...But all of your FRIENDS' SOULS are gonna be mine, too!"

Frisk looked around for anything they could do to help, but found nothing. 

"Hee hee hee," Flowey laughed at Frisk grappling for something they could do. "And you know what the best part is? It's all your fault. It's all because you MADE THEM love you. All the time you spent listening to them...Encouraging them...Caring about them...Without that, they wouldn't have come here. And now, with their souls and the humans' together...I will achieve my REAL FORM. Hee hee..."

"Wh..." Frisk struggled to get their words out. 

"Huh?" Flowey cocked his head to the side. 

"Why..." Frisk said. "Why are you...doing this?" 

"WHY am I still doing this?" Flowey smiled condescendingly at Frisk. "Don't you get it? This is all just a GAME. If you leave the underground satisfied, you'll 'win' the game. If you 'win', you won't want to 'play' with me anymore. And what would I do then?"

Frisk felt something stir at the back of their head, and they knew their narrator was listening.

"But this game between us will NEVER end!" Flowey snarled. "I'll hold victory in front of you, just within your reach...And then tear it away just before you grasp it. Over, and over, and over...Hee hee hee." 

 _You have to tell him I'm not you._ Frisk pleaded with their narrator. _This has gone too far. Please, Chara._  

"Listen," Flowey interrupted before Frisk could get a response out of their narrator. "If you DO defeat me, I'll give you your 'happy ending.' I'll bring your friends back. I'll destroy the barrier. Everyone will finally be satisfied. But that WON'T happen. You...!" 

Frisk felt their narrator flinch, knowing the statement was being directed at them.

"I'll keep you here no matter what!" Flowey said. Then, he popped into the ground and moved out of the center of the battlefield. Yanking Frisk's soul into the fight, a score of bullets surrounded them. Frisk tried to move, but Flowey had made the field so impossibly small that they couldn't move one centimeter. The flower grinned maliciously.

"Even if it means killing you 1,000,000 times!!!" 

Flowey cackled, slamming the bullets into Frisk relentlessly. The attacks tore at their skin, pelting into the very sinews of their limbs and gouging out blood and viscera. When their HP was down to 1, Flowey slowed the bullets' speed down. The circle of attacks around Frisk inched ever-so-slowly towards the faltering human. Closing their eyes, Frisk wondered how they could have been so stupid to fall for Flowey's tricks. Now, not only were they going to die; but all of their friends were going to as well. Taking one last breath, Frisk waited for the final blow to find purchase on their mangled body...

_Ping!_

Frisk felt their wounds close up, the pain in their body subsided. Looking up, Frisk was just in time to see a circle of Toriel's flame attacks had surrounded them. 

"What?" Flowey murmured in shock. 

"Do not be afraid, my child..." 

Frisk looked up and saw Toriel had regained some of her consciousness. She smiled warmly down at the young human. 

"No matter what happens..." Toriel continued. "We will always be there to protect you!" 

More bullets came down, rushing in from the sides. A bone stopped one line of bullets, while a magic spear stopped the other. 

"THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN!" Papyrus called out. "YOU CAN WIN!!! JUST DO WHAT I, WOULD DO...BELIEVE IN YOU!!!" 

"Hey! Human!" Undyne followed. "You and your friends got past ME! You can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!" 

Frisk smiled, their HP slowly rising with each encouraging word form their friends.

"huh? you haven't beaten this guy yet?" sans asked. "come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Flowey tried to strike out again, but this time more flames and shocks of electricity came out to stop him.

"Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him..." Alphys said. "B-but....Somehow, I know you can do it!!!" 

"Human," Asgore spoke. "For the future of humans and monsters...! You have to stay determined...!" 

Then, as Asgore finished speaking, scores of other monsters showed up. Each one shouting encouragement to Frisk. 

"C'mon, you got this!" Monster Kid cheered. 

"We're with you too!" Vulkin added. 

"La la la!" Shyren sang. 

"You've GOT to win!" Muffet said, swinging her teapots like pompoms. 

"You can do it!" RG01 whooped. 

"Ribbit!" Froggit croaked. 

"Urrgh...NO!" Flowey groaned, irritation seeping into his voice. "Unbelievable!! This can't be happening...! You...YOU...!" 

Flowey's face changed then, switching from aggravated defeat to menacing satisfaction in the blink of an eye. 

"I can't believe you're all so STUPID!" Flowey cackled, vines shooting out around all of the other monsters in the underground who had come to support Frisk. "ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!!!" 

A white light began to consume Frisk's vision again, and they couldn't do anything but watch as all of their friends dissolved and were absorbed into a buzzing nothingness. The brightness washed everything out, Frisk covered their eyes to avoid being blinded by the harsh light it was giving off. 

After a moment, the light gave way to darkness. Lowering their arm, Frisk looked out into the blackness. Everyone was gone. Not even Flowey was there to offer any taunts. 

There was only one person left in the darkness with Frisk. It was someone they had never seen before. 

He was small, about Frisk's height, wearing a green and yellow striped shirt. Frisk only saw his back but even from there could see he had the same fur and characteristics of Toriel and Asgore. The longer they looked at him, the more they could feel their narrator losing touch with themself. 

"Finally," the monster child spoke in a soft, gentle voice. Frisk backed away, recognizing the sound immediately.

"I was so tired of being a flower," he continued, turning around then. Slowly, he lifted his gaze and smiled at Frisk. 

"Howdy!" he grinned. "Chara, are you there?" 

Frisk scrambled away, not taking their eyes off of the monster. Their back connected with solid wall and they froze. Their narrator was trying desperately to shut out what was happening, but Frisk could feel their emotions coursing through their veins as the small white goat monster looked at them kindly. 

"It's me," the monster continued. "Your best friend..." 

 

**A S R I E L  D R E E M U R R**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four more chapters...


	31. Hopes and Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk about you guys...but I'm about ready for the other humans to make a comeback.
> 
> Long chapter ahead!!

Another bright flash, and the monster child was gone. In his place was what looked to be a more grown-up version of himself. Horns spindled out of his head and a golden locket was clasped around his throat. The robe he wore was identical to Toriel's, which made Frisk think about Robin and how much they wished they were there to help them right then. 

 _Well, they're not._ Frisk shook their head to get rid of the thought. _You have to help yourself._

Frisk checked Asriel's stats and felt their heart drop when they saw he had infinite attack and defense. 

 _Legendary being made of every SOUL in the underground._ Chara added.

 _Oh, so you're talking to me again!?_ Frisk asked. 

Their narrator didn't get a chance to reply, because Asriel's first attack was already beginning. 

Flame attacks cascaded down, almost identical to the ones Toriel used when Frisk had battled her. Frisk was hesitant to feel relief at the simple attack, knowing that a being with as much power as Asriel wouldn't stick to such easy moves for long. As the attack ended, Frisk stared up at Asriel in terror and had to struggle not to give up right then. 

Swallowing down their fear, Frisk took a deep breath and reminded themself why they were there. As they did, they could feel the empty space in their pocket fill up. Asriel's next attack began. 

More simple flame attacks. Frisk started dodging, easily weaving in between the balls of fire, when suddenly the attack cut short. A bright flash, and then the shadowy battledome they knew so well was pulsing with color. Asriel floated back and forth, trails of rainbow silhouetting where he had been as he moved from space to space. The true final battle was finally beginning.

Bringing his hands up, a cluster of stars swarmed Asriel's palms. With a wave of his hand, enormous stars burst from the heavens and crashed down around Frisk. They split off and spattered into smaller heart-shaped attacks, which Frisk dodged as best they could with the erratic patterns. 

As the attack ended, Frisk clutched their chest and tried to shove their pain to the back of their mind. The star attacks had jabbed them down to 10HP, and they weren't sure what massive attack Asriel would bring on next. Looking into their pocket, Frisk found a stack of new health items all labelled 'Last Dream'. Selecting one of the items, Frisk felt their HP max out. 

 _Through DETERMINATION, the dream came true._ Chara said. 

"You know..." Asriel said, shaking his head and shrugging. "I don't care about destroying this world anymore." 

The next attack cracked off. Bolts of different colored lightning shot down on square markers, and Frisk could hardly move fast enough to avoid getting hit. The bolts hit and shocked them, zipping across their skin and leaving sharp burns in their place. Coughing against the smoke in their lungs, Frisk steadied themself as they bent down to kneel on the ground. 

Their HP was at 14; which wasn't too bad, all things considered. 

 _I can still make it._ Frisk thought, holding onto their hopes. 

 _You reduced how much DAMAGE you will take this turn!_ Chara announced. 

"After I defeat you and gain total control of this timeline..." Asriel continued, grinning down at Frisk. "I just want to reset everything." 

Frisk felt Chara startle at that, their sorrow prickling at the back of Frisk's thoughts.

 _He sounds..._ Chara began to say, but was cut off as Asriel's next attack began. 

Two blades appeared in Asriel's hands. Striking out, he sliced at one half of the battlefield while Frisk scrambled for the other. He left no room for Frisk to even take a breath, whipping his blade out on the other side as soon as Frisk was out of danger from the other. One blade gashed Frisk's arm open and they winced as blood burst into the soft blue stripes on their sweater. 

But they kept holding on. 

"All your progress...Everyone's memories..." Asriel said, speaking as if he was tasting the words. "I'll bring them all back to zero!" 

_...He sounds like me._

Bolts of lightning shattering Frisk's eardrums as they broke into the ground. One bolt struck them right in the chest, halving their HP. 

 _The dream came true._ Chara said as Frisk used another Last Dream. _Your HP maxed out._

"Then we can do everything ALL over again!" Asriel said, a triumphant smirk on his face. 

Stars crashed around Frisk, cascading down like a meteor showed as the young human wove in and out of the attacks. Even though they were in danger, Frisk couldn't help but think the stars falling around them were actually quite beautiful. The attack ended. 

Realizing they could still see beauty even at a time like this, Frisk kept holding onto their hopes and reduced their damage for the next turn. 

"And you want to know the best part of all this?" Asriel asked, his voice edged with laughter as he spoke to Chara. "You'll DO it."

 _Th-That's not true, I...Frisk..._ Their narrator faltered, distressed by Asriel's statement. _Frisk, do you think he's right?_

But Frisk didn't get a chance to answer. At that very moment, Asriel had pulled out his next attack. A huge laser fired strings of diamond-shaped attacks that Frisk had to dive in between, barely scraping out of each string fired. The attack finished off with a super-loaded rainbow beam that scoped half the battlefield, Frisk got smashed square in the face and felt their HP cut down to 7. 

Using another Last Dream, Frisk brought their HP back up before letting Asriel continue. 

"And then you'll lose to me again." 

_Asriel calls on "CHAOS SABER."_

"And again." 

_Asriel readies "CHAOS BUSTER."_

"And again!!!" 

_Asriel readies "SHOCKER BREAKER."_

Frisk wheezed as another attack ended. They could heal their wounds, but the physical exhaustion from being slammed around was beginning to overwhelm them. Asriel's resolve to destroy them hadn't seemed to weaken at all; in fact, the more they struggled to continue on, they more he seemed to grow in power. It was getting harder and harder to hold on to their hopes, but Frisk did the best they could under the circumstances.

"Because you want a 'happy ending,'" Asriel taunted, tilting his head and giving a mockingly sympathetic smile. 

Galacta Blazing rained down, a flurry of stars obscuring Frisk's field of vision. There were so many attacks twinkling around them, Frisk hardly knew which direction to turn. They stumbled blindly through the forest of stars, the sharp points of the cosmic attacks cutting at their face and hands. At the end of the attack, one last huge star tumbled into the center of the battlefield and exploded. More tiny stars came out at Frisk from all angles, cutting them up and bringing their HP down to 2 before the turn ended. 

Using another Last Dream, Frisk brought their HP up to 19. 

"Because you 'love your friends,'" Asriel continued.

Chaos Slicer cut through the air with a sharp swish, swinging madly at Frisk from both sides. They dodged, some of their hair getting cut off in the process; but they'd gotten the hang of this attack by then and miraculously made it through without losing too much HP. 

 _Your items fill up with dreams._ Chara said as Frisk selected the 'Dream' option again. 

"Because you 'never give up,'" Asriel sneered, venom seeping from his words as he struck out at his supposed sibling with his Chaos Blaster. 

Frisk wove between the lasers well enough, their HP taking a hit when they couldn't dodge fast enough from one of the streams of attacks. Asriel charged up the blaster to full power and let go of the clutch, firing a rainbow beam of attack at Frisk. Stars shot out of the top and Frisk swerved to avoid the unexpected addition to the attack. 

"Isn't that delicious?" Asriel chuckled, throwing his hands up and shaking his head again. "Your 'determination.' The power that let you get this far...It's gonna be your downfall." 

Bolts of lighting shot from Shocker Breaker II, knocking Frisk to the ground with the sheer impact of their power. The residual energy from the attacks alone were enough to take down Frisk's HP. They finished the turn and used another Last Dream. 

"Now, ENOUGH messing around!" Asriel said, eyes flashing with menace. "It's time to purge this timeline once and for all!" 

The rest of the battlefield faded away and Frisk found themself staring head on into a gargantuan goat monster's skull. The skeleton cackled a deep hollow laugh before opening its jaws wide, drawing everything in the vicinity into its wretched mouth. As Frisk watched the timeline around them get absorbed into nothing, they felt themself getting pulled in along with it. 

 _This is it..._ Frisk thought to themself. _This is always how it was going to end...I should just give up and let him win._

 _Don't you dare!_ Chara shouted at Frisk from the back of their head. _Don't you even think of giving up now; not when you're so close!_

 _But he's...so strong..._ Frisk thought, struggling not to get pulled into the vortex along with everything else. 

 _So are you!_ Chara shouted. _Now, stop being a baby and fight!_

Hyper Goner faded away, leaving Asriel in its place. He blinked in shock when he saw Frisk still standing against him, their 1 HP sparking valiantly behind their tired eyes. 

"...even after that attack, you're still standing in my way...?" Asriel shook his head, amazed. "Wow...you really ARE something special. But don't get cocky. Up until now, I've only been using a fraction of my REAL power! Let's see what good your DETERMINATION is against THIS!!" 

Then, Asriel's body pulled apart, warping and twisting out of proportion as the world went out of focus again. Another bright flash covered Frisk's vision, blocking their sight and cutting everything away from them. 

* * *

When their vision returned, Asriel was back. But he was different this time, even more twisted from his original body. His face was stretched and twisted into a horrible grin, his eyes all but completely black. Multicolored wings flashed as they arched out of his back, and he wielded mighty gauntlets in place of hands.

Frisk tried to do something, anything; but their movements had been restricted and all they could seem to do was struggle.

 _Chara, what's happening!?_ Frisk panicked.  

 _Can't move your body..._ they said.  

"Urah ha ha..." Asriel bellowed. "Behold my TRUE power!"

Raising his hands, Asriel shot out bolts of rainbow colored attacks. Frisk found that they could still move to dodge, but it was of little use. They only had 1HP left; and, as soon as they missed a step of their rhythm, they were taken out. 

Everything went black. 

Then, out of the darkness, came their narrator's voice.

_But it refused._

Frisk felt their soul pull itself back together and, just like that, they were back in front of Asriel the Angel of Death. 

"I can feel it..." Asriel said, staring right through Frisk to the part that was Chara. "Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you..."

Frisk trembled, struggling against the power that was keeping them from doing anything. They could feel themself giving up, losing hope. 

 _Cut that shit out right now._ Chara snapped, voice irritated. _You're gonna win this, Frisk._

Another attack. Frisk dove to avoid the rainbow meteors, not dying but still taking some serious hits to their HP. 

"Still you're hanging on...?" Asriel raised his eyebrows. "That's fine. In a few moments, you'll forget everything, too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life!"

 _Chara...!_ Frisk panicked, continuing to struggle. 

 _Shut up! I'm not gonna let that happen, I promise!_ Chara shouted. _But you can't give up either!!_

"Ura ha ha...Still!?" Asriel laughed, not even the least bit concerned. "Come on... Show me what good your DETERMINATION is now!"

The bolts shot out and Frisk dodged. A few hits landed to their back, making it difficult to breathe, but they still came out of the attack alive. They began to struggle for something to do again. But they couldn't move their body. They tried to reach their 'SAVE' file, but nothing happened. They tried again and nothing happened. 

 _Seems SAVING the game really is impossible..._ Chara sighed. Then, their voice changed as a thought occurred to them. _But...Maybe, with what little power you have... You can SAVE something else._

 _What do you mean!?_ Frisk asked, feeling a strange clang in their chest. 

 _Call out to your friends, dummy._ Chara said. _They're in there somewhere. Like me, they're just hidden from your sight. But they're not really gone, you know. Not yet. Not while you still need them._

Frisk felt their hands shake, but gave a firm nod. Taking a deep breath, they called out to their friends. 

* * *

From deep within Asriel's soul, something began to resonate. Then, Frisk flashed away from the battle for a moment and was transported to a different battlefield. Standing before them were two opponents. 

Although their faces were blurred out, Frisk would recognize their two eldest traveling companions anywhere. Tears welled in their eyes as the souls of their fellow humans appeared before them, consumed with the shock of having thought they'd never see them again. Rushing over to Robin's soul, Frisk threw their arms around them and buried their face in the familiar purple robes. The lost soul seemed confused by the sudden impact, but couldn't help raising their arms protectively around the smaller child. Frisk pulled away reluctantly as the two souls began to prepare an attack. 

"Why would I ever want to leave?" Robin's soul spoke out, their voice garbled into near static. 

"We'll never see her again..." Alex's soul added, shaking their blotched out head solemnly. 

Their attack began, a cascade of aqua knives coupled with orange boxing gloves. Frisk went still as the knives past through and ran head on at the orange gloves. Thankfully, the attacks were hardly as difficult as what Asriel had been throwing at them and they came out with no damage. 

Turning to Alex, Frisk clenched their fist and pumped it into the air with a mighty shout, like they remembered Alex liked to do. The soul's right hand twitched, looking like they'd like to join Frisk. 

"There is only one way this can end..." Robin's soul murmured. 

"You can't do this alone..." Alex's soul added. 

Frisk went through the eldest two's attack again, dodging the orange and blue items easily. When the attack was over, Frisk turned to them both and asked for their help. Something stirred in the two lost souls, a distant memory of knowing they had to protect this person...Suddenly...

"You can do this, Frisk!" Robin's soul smiled, their face coming back into focus. 

"We're with you all the way!" Alex grinned, pumping their fist into the air. 

Then, Frisk was back facing Asriel. From deep within him, they could feel something resonating. Feeling more confident, Frisk called out to their friends again. 

* * *

The battlefield shifted, and two more lost souls appeared before them. Bell and Laurel's souls stood hand-in-hand, faces a blur of forgotten memories. 

Frisk turned to Bell and asked them to show them some ballet moves. The lost soul pattered their feet excitedly for a moment before theirs and Laurel's attack began. 

"Stupid..." Bell said, shaking their head. 

"I was wrong...I was so wrong..." Laurel's soul said miserably. 

The attack began. Frisk felt their gravity balance go off-center, a blue glow emitting from their chest. Big purple words flew out from each side and Frisk had to jump over them. Like the previous two souls, these ones didn't seem intent on hurting Frisk either, and the attack went by fairly easily. 

Once it was their turn again, Frisk told Laurel they had an interesting fact they wanted to tell them. The lost soul's free hand patted around to look for a scrap of paper to write with. 

"Do you really think you can stop him?" Bell's soul asked.

"I can't find a solution to this..." Laurel's soul added. 

The attacks came again and Frisk dodged again. Turning to Bell again, Frisk told them that Mew Mew Kissy Cutie was their favorite anime.

"It's entry-level garbage!!!" Bell burst out, their face coming into focus. 

Laurel's face came back too, they were laughing at Bell's overreaction. Looking to each other, they smiled and then turned to Frisk. 

"Hey, you got this!" Bell gave Frisk a thumbs-up.

"You already know the answer!" Laurel waved, giving their biggest smile. 

* * *

Back in front of Asriel, Frisk called out to their friends again. The last two of the other humans came up. Hop's lost soul leaned their right side heavily against Twain's left, their bodies a mess of garbled data. 

"Hop!" Frisk called out to their friend. "A dog!!" 

Hop's lost soul looked around with their blurred out face, excitedly looking for the dog before the attack began. 

"We all get what we deserve..." Hop's soul said. 

"This is a kindness..." Twain added. 

Then, Frisk felt themself lock into place as green glowed from their chest. They had been equipped with a shield and a herald of yellow bullets were pelting down around them. Flinging their arm around, Frisk deflected the attacks and came out scratch free. 

Turning to Twain, Frisk asked them to cook something for them. The lost soul looked excited to get to work on a new recipe. 

"It's only fair..." Hop said. 

"Should have never left..." Twain's soul bowed their head. 

More bullets showered down, Frisk pushed them all back with their shield. The attack ended and, as their last move, Frisk took out their slice of butterscotch pie and ate it. The smell of the pie reminded the two lost souls of Home, and then...

"Give this story the right ending, Frisk!" Hop called out encouragingly. 

"If anyone can win this, you can!" Twain added. 

Then, Frisk was back facing Asriel. A grimace of conflicting emotions crossed his face, like there was still something happening inside of him. Something they couldn't see. 

 _You saved the humans' souls._ Chara said. _Now, there's the matter of the monsters._

 _But I don't have that option._ Frisk protested, looking around them for any of their monster friends' names. 

 _No, you don't._ Chara agreed. _But maybe someone else does..._

* * *

There were pinpricks left, that was it. Frisk didn't have the power to reawaken the dead, and that's exactly what the other six humans still very much were. However, Frisk had managed to awaken the strongest parts of their souls one last time. Their compassion, their understanding, their forgiveness...all of this was present in them again. Sparking off in six different directions, each of the human souls gravitated towards a monster's soul. 

Robin and Alex's souls ended up at the same place, each one drawn to the lost souls of Toriel and Asgore. Looking at each other, they nodded and turned to their mother.

Robin looked up to Toriel's lost soul and smiled. They knew it wasn't the real thing, but it was as close as they could ask for. 

"You know," Robin said. "I've always preferred cinnamon to butterscotch." 

"You're crazy!" Alex retorted. "Butterscotch or bust!" 

"Cinnamon!" 

"Butterscotch!" 

"Cinnamon!" 

"Butterscotch!" 

The lost soul seemed to remember this somehow and found herself laughing at the two arguing children.

"This is for your own good," she said. 

"Forgive me for this," Asgore's soul added. 

The flame attacks spun out. Grabbing each other's hand, Alex and Robin's souls worked together to avoid the attacks and came out undamaged. 

Turning to Asgore, Robin and Alex looked unsure of what to do. At a loss for any other move, Robin surged forward and hugged Asgore as tightly as they could manage. 

"We're going to save everyone, Asgore," Alex added from afar. 

Something stirred within the lost soul, it seemed as if his aggression was melting away. 

"No one will leave again," Toriel's soul said.

"This is my duty," Asgore said. 

More flames. Robin and Alex dodged the attacks easily. 

Together, the two human souls rushed over to Toriel's lost soul and hugged her. 

"I will see you again," Robin promised, even though they knew their time was dwindling. 

"We all will," Alex nodded. 

Something about this was so familiar to the lost soul that her memories came flooding back. Seeing her remember caused Asgore's soul to remember as well. 

"Your fate is up to you now!" Toriel said. 

"You are our future!" Asgore smiled. 

Smiling at each other, Robin and Alex's soul faded from the battle and returned to their place in Asriel's being. 

* * *

"Hey, Papyrus!" Bell called out, their hand still in Laurel's. "You sure do have a strange smile!" 

"Bell!" Laurel slapped Bell's figment of an arm. "Uh, sorry...How about some help with a puzzle...?"

The lost soul blushed at Bell's insult, and seemed to really want to help Laurel with their puzzle. 

"I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted. 

"just give up," sans' soul muttered from the side. "i did." 

Lifting Laurel's soul onto their back, Bell leapt and danced through the ensuing bone attacks. The two came out unscathed. 

"Come on, sans," Bell said to the other lost soul. "You can't give up yet. I've still got a _bone_ to pick with you."

The lost soul seemed to love the bad pun, while the other seemed to hate it.

"THEN EVERYONE WILL," Papyrus' soul continued.

"why even try?" sans asked.

Another attack. Bell still wove flawlessly up and down over the bones, even in their fragile state.

"Hey, sans," Laurel said. "Why don't you take a break from all this fighting?"

The lost soul nodded. It looked like it was going to take Laurel up on that offer.

"NO! WAIT!" Papyrus said as his face snapped back into focus. "YOU'RE MY FRIENDS! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!!"

"nah," sans grinned. "i'm rootin' for ya, kids."

Bell and Laurel smiled, taking each other's hands and vanishing from the battlefield.

* * *

Undyne's lost soul appeared before Twain's soul. Right off the bat, Twain couldn't help but give Undyne a huge smile. The lost soul looked like she wanted to smile back.

"All humans will die!" she yelled.

Then, Twain was back with their bent arrow shield deflecting attacks from Undyne just like the first time they'd battled. These attacks were nothing like the ones Twain had had to avoid during the late stages of Undyne's battle, and they hit them all with ease.

"Undyne, will you teach me how to cook?" Twain asked the lost soul.

The lost soul twitched, looking like she really wanted to teach them how.

"You're our real enemy," the lost soul said again, beginning her attack.

Twain deflected those arrows too, coming out of the attack unharmed.

Balling their hand into a fist, Twain reached out and fake hit Undyne. Something about the way they hit her awakened a memory within the lost soul, and suddenly...

"Well, some humans are ok, I guess!" Undyne said, flashing an enormous grin.

Twain breathed a sigh of relief, peacefully fading out of the battle.

* * *

Last but not least, Hop was drawn to Alphys' soul. Sitting on the battleground, Hop smiled up at the lost soul.

"Hey, Alphys, what's your favorite cartoon?" Hop asked, watching as the lost soul barely kept herself from giving a huge answer.

"You hate me, don't you...?" Alphys' soul asked.

Tiny mettatons floated down on umbrellas, just like when Hop had battled the flamboyant robot themself. Leaning back, Hop fired finger guns at the little robots and took them all out before they could even throw an attack. 

"I don't hate you," Hop said. "And I'm gonna continue to support you, okay?" 

Something in Hop's voice resonated with the lost soul. 

"I've got to keep lying..." she said. 

Bombs floated down in a straight line. Firing at the bombs, Hop let them explode right in front of them and took the damage full on. 

"Come to think of it," Hop tapped their chin. "I could really use your help on this quiz question."

The lost soul seemed to remember this, and all of a sudden her memories came flooding back. 

"No, that's not true!" Alphys said. "My friends like me! And I like you, too!" 

Hop laughed, letting themself be absorbed back into Asriel's consciousness. 

* * *

Frisk could feel their friends' souls resonating within Asriel altogether then. However, as their friends regained their memories, something else seemed to be resonation within Asriel's soul as well. It grew stronger and stronger with each soul's memories. 

 _There's still one last person that needs to be saved._ Chara said. 

 _Who...?_ Frisk asked. 

 _Heh. Who do you think?_ Chara laughed a little. 

Frisk looked up at Asriel, realization dawning on them. Smiling a little, they turned to their narrator. 

 _Would you like to do the honors?_ Frisk asked. 

 _Me...?_ Chara breathed. _B-But, he...he hates me...After what I did, I don't think-_

 _Chara,_ Frisk interrupted. _Who has this all been for?_

Chara went quiet then, and Frisk was afraid they were going to shut them out like they always did. But then, their voice stirred up again. 

 _Are you...sure you don't mind?_ Chara asked timidly. 

Frisk smiled. _I wouldn't have it any other way._

Frisk gave up control of their body for a moment, just a moment. Just long enough for Chara to come through and have time to reach for their sibling and call out his name. 

"Asriel!" Chara called out.

"Huh!?" Asriel's eyebrows shot up as he looked down at Frisk's body with their hand stretching towards him. 

"It's okay, Asriel!" Chara said. "It's okay. I'm here!" 

"What are you doing...!?" Asriel exclaimed, backing away as Chara moved closer towards him. 

"I'm..." Chara faltered, tears spilling down Frisk's cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Asriel." 

At the drop of those words, Asriel's face went slack; like everything inside of him had snapped. His eyes glazed over, lost in a long forgotten memory. 

Flashes of a time long before any of this had happened. Memories of a human in a striped shirt falling down. A warm, scraped up hand slipping into his as he helped them up off the ground. A memory of happiness. Of family. 

As he remembered, Asriel could feel the souls resonating within him stronger than ever. From inside his head, he could hear six distinct voices speaking to him. They were trying to tell him something, trying to help him remember the rest of the story.

But Asriel didn't want to remember the ending, it was too painful. And in it, no one ended up happy. In the ending of his story, he ended up alone and forgotten. The way his story ended, he wasn't even a memory. At the end of his story, he didn't even get to be himself anymore. He couldn't remember anything of who he was; so, why should anyone else? 

"Wh...what did you do...?" Asriel asked, looking down at Frisk.

Confusion riddled his face as he tried to find Chara in them again; but after reaching out to him, Chara had fallen back to their usual spot at the back of Frisk's head, too exhausted to do much more than observe.  

"What's this feeling...?" Asriel continued. "What's happening to me?" 

Frisk gave Asriel a pitying look, and tried to reach out to him. But he recoiled. 

"No! NO!" he shouted. "I don't need ANYONE!" 

Raising his arms, Asriel fired off his rainbow attacks at Frisk. They pelted mercilessly at them, draining their HP. Still, Frisk got up when it was their turn and tried again to reach out for Asriel. 

"STOP IT!!" Asriel screamed. "Get away from me!" 

Frisk reached out a gentle hand. "Asriel-"

"Do you hear me!?" Asriel cried. "I'll tear you apart!" 

Frisk gasped, backing away as the attacks began to fire off in their face. Wiping the blood from their face, Frisk stood up and called out to Asriel again. 

"....Chara..." Asriel spoke, his voice noticeably softer.

Frisk felt Chara stir at the back of their head, listening intently to their brother as he spoke to them. 

"Do you know why I'm doing this...?" Asriel asked, eyes downcast. "Why I keep fighting to keep you around...?" 

Asriel's next attack came, but Frisk found they didn't need to dodge as the flame attacks pouring from Asriel's fingertips weren't even aimed at them anymore. 

"I'm doing this..." Asriel said, bringing his head up and looking at Frisk as he tried to find his sibling in there. "Because you're special, Chara." 

Frisk felt Chara's consciousness reach for Asriel, aching to comfort their best friend. 

"You're the only one who understands me," Asriel said, his voice wavering. "You're the only one who's any fun to play with anymore." 

Another shower of harmless flame attacks while Asriel thought through what he would say next. 

"No...That's not JUST it," Asriel shook his head. "I...I...I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara!" 

Chara started in the back of Frisk's head, wishing they had the strength to do anything more than listen. 

"I care about you more than anybody else!" Asriel declared, sobs racking his voice as he struggled to keep them suppressed. 

More flames. Frisk watched them fall to the ground and fizzle out, leaving small scorch marks where they landed. 

"I'm not ready for this to end," Asriel admitted. "I'm not ready for you to leave. I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again..."

Frisk felt Chara twisting with distress, felt their frustration at not being able to help. It was a feeling Frisk knew all too well. 

"So, please..." Asriel wailed, throwing back his head and letting the tears pour out at last. "STOP doing this...AND JUST LET ME WIN!!!" 

Bringing his hands together, Asriel summoned every ounce of his power and fired at Frisk. They felt their HP drop almost immediately to 1. 

"Chara... _"_ Frisk said as the beam of power tore away at them, too weak to even carry a thought. "I can't...Hold on much longer... _"_

 _You have to!_ Chara insisted. _You have to end this Frisk, please!_

"I c-can't..." Frisk whimpered.

 _Then I..._ Chara hesitated. _I'll help you._

"Wh-What...?" Frisk asked. 

 _Just trust me._ Chara said. _It'll be okay._

"But what are you going to..." 

 _JUST TRUST ME!!_ Chara shouted, voice on the edge of tears. _This is my fault, I'm going to fix it! I'm not gonna let anyone else die because of me!_

And that was the end of it. Frisk felt their HP bottom out to 0, but they didn't die. Checking their HP, Frisk saw that their soul was fragmenting itself into infinitesimally small numbers.

Frisk searched their thoughts wildly for their narrator. _Chara? Chara, what did you do!?_

But nobody answered.

"STOP IT!!!" Asriel was screaming, his voice shredding more and more the longer his wailing persisted. "STOP IT NOW!!!" 

Finally, Asriel stopped attacking. His hands dropped numbly to his sides as he stared down at the ground. 

Crawling towards him, Frisk called out once again to Asriel. 

"....Chara...." Asriel said, his voice gentle now. 

Frisk checked to see if Chara was listening, but they couldn't feel their narrator's presence anymore. 

"I'm so alone, Chara..." Asriel said, his voice breaking. 

Frisk felt panic rising in their chest. They didn't know how to help either Chara or Asriel, and they were the only one left to do so. At a loss for what else to do, Frisk reached out with one shaking hand and grasped for Asriel's failing form. 

Asriel whimpered at the ghost of touch on his diminishing frame.

"I'm so afraid, Chara..." 

Frisk felt their own tears slip down their face now. Asriel was falling apart before their very eyes. With each passing moment, there seemed to be less and less of him for them to see. And all they could do was continue to reach out to him, to keep trying to save him. 

Asriel took a deep breath, sniffling his sobs down. 

"Chara, I..." he began. "...I..." 

A white light began to envelope both Frisk and Asriel then, consuming and washing out everything until there was nothing left to see. And then, then light faded and the darkness settled back in. 

Frisk opened their eyes. 


	32. Final Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've said so much...What more is there to say??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but important.

"I'm so sorry!"

Frisk blinked, trying to get their eyes to focus. Standing before them, was Asriel Dreemurr. His true self, no body modifications or weaponized appendages. Just a scared, sad little kid; crying his eyes out in front of Frisk.

Asriel wiped his eyes and tried to smile up at the other child. 

"I always was a crybaby, wasn't I, Chara?" Asriel asked, giving a half-hearted laugh. 

Frisk bit their lip and glanced to the side, not wanting to state the obvious. 

"I know..." Asriel sighed, his shoulders drooping a little bit. "You're not actually Chara, are you? Chara's been gone for a long time."

Frisk nodded solemnly, checking to see if there was anything their narrator had to say about that. 

But no one said anything. 

"Um...what..." Asriel pressed a finger to his lips, looking embarrassed as he blushed up at the other child. "What IS your name?"

Frisk smiled then, telling Asriel their name. 

"Frisk?" Asriel repeated. "That's...a nice name."

A breathe of silence passed between them, Asriel looking like he was trying to get up the nerve to say something and Frisk giving him the time and space he needed to get it out.

"Frisk..." Asriel said, testing the name out on his tongue."I haven't felt like this for a very long time. As a flower, I was soulless. I lacked the power to love other people. However, with everyone's souls inside me...I not only have my own compassion back...But I can feel every other monster's as well. They all care about each other so much. And...they care about you too, Frisk."

Frisk smiled. 

"The other humans, too," Asriel added. "I can feel them as well they...they tried to tell me you weren't Chara back when...Well, they were just trying to protect you. They love you a lot, Frisk."

Frisk nodded, feeling tears come to their eyes at the mention of the other humans. 

"I wish I could tell you how everyone feels about you," Asriel continued, placed a hand over his chest and closing his eyes. "Papyrus... Sans... Undyne... Alphys..." Asriel paused for a minute, opening his eyes and looking downward. "...Toriel." 

Taking his hand away from his chest, Asriel gave a little laugh a shook his head. 

"Monsters are weird," Asriel smiled. "Even though they barely know you...It feels like they all really love you. Haha..."

Asriel's face went grim then, his smile dropping as he glanced anxiously up at Frisk. 

"Frisk...I...I understand if you can't forgive me..." he said. "I understand if you hate me. I acted so strange and horrible. I hurt you. I hurt so many people. Friends, family, bystanders...There's no excuse for what I've done." 

Frisk looked at Asriel, trying to find some part of them that hated him. But then they realized, they didn't want to hate Asriel. He had acted strange and he had hurt them, but Frisk understood to some degree that that wasn't his fault. Remembering everything they'd read in the lab, they couldn't help but feel sorry for the little monster. Their eyes softened and they gave him a smile. 

"I forgive you," Frisk said. 

"Wh...what?" Asriel looked up, eyes meeting Frisk's for the first time. They smiled warmly at him and nodded. "...Frisk, come on. You're...You're gonna make me cry again."

Frisk's smiled widened, a ghost of laughter coming to their throat. 

"...besides, even if you do forgive me..." Asriel said, looking away. "I can't keep these souls inside of me. The least I can do is return them. I'll...I'll put everyone back, I promise, okay? Everyone who was hurt because of me...Well, we had a deal didn't we? You beat me, so, you get to have your happy ending. But first...There's something I have to do." 

Frisk's eyebrows lifted as they watched Asriel's face set with determination. 

"Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts beating as one," Asriel said. "They're all burning with the same desire. With everyone's power...With everyone's determination...It's time for monsters...And some humans...To finally go free."

Taking a step back, Frisk watched as Asriel lifted into the air. He spread his palms to either side, his head thrown back like it had been during the Hyper Goner attack. Only this time, souls were being set free. Countless white monsters souls and six multicolored human souls all surged from the tiny monster child. As more souls were released, another surge of white light began to cloud out Frisk's field of vision. Then, there was a huge shattering noise, and the white wall of blinding light cracked away. 

The barrier was destroyed. 

Asriel lowered gently to the ground and Frisk rushed to his side. Lifting his head, Asriel turned and gave Frisk a sad smile. 

"Frisk...I have to go now," he said. "Without the power of everyone's souls...I can't keep maintaining this form. In a little while, I'll turn back into a flower. I'll stop being 'myself.' I'll stop being able to feel love again. So...Frisk, it's best if you just forget about me, okay? Just go be with the people who love you."

But Frisk couldn't leave just yet, there was still one last thing they had to do. Rushing forward, Frisk wrapped their arms tightly around Asriel. 

The young prince seemed shocked at first, having not expected such a response from Frisk towards him. But then, he found himself leaning heavily into the human child, holding on as tightly as I could. 

"Ha...ha..." Asriel said, voice thick with tears as Frisk rubbed his back. "I don't want to let go..."

Eventually though, Asriel did pull away; and then he gave Frisk a fond smile.

"Frisk..." he began. "You're...You're going to do a great job, okay? No matter what you do. Everyone will be there for you, okay?" 

Frisk nodded, tears of their own catching in their throat. 

"Well..." Asriel sighed, turning away from Frisk. "My time is running out. Goodbye." 

Asriel began to walk away; but, before he was completely gone, he turned around to impart one final message to Frisk. 

"By the way," he said. "Frisk...take care of Mom and Dad for me, okay?" 

Frisk nodded, and then it was time for Asriel to leave. As he walked away, Frisk felt their vision turning to bright flashes of white again. Giving Asriel one last long look, Frisk let go of a deep breath and let the brightness cover them.

Then everything went black again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters.


	33. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it feels so good.

There was a noise trying to reach them. No, not a noise...A voice. A voice Frisk knew very well was trying to call out to them, had been calling out to them for a long time. As they came around, the voice became clearer in Frisk's mind and they could hear what it was trying to say to them. 

"Frisk! This is all just a bad dream...!" the voice said, hovering close to Frisk's ear. "Please, wake up...!" 

Frisk cracked their eyelids open, unsure of where they were. Opening their eyes slowly, they looked around at the area surrounding them. They seemed to have been laying on their back in the area just before the barrier. Looking up, Frisk saw that Toriel was leaning over them, concern etched into her face. Rising to their feet, Frisk saw that Toriel wasn't the only one present in the room. 

Frisk was surrounded on all sides by the friends they'd made during their journey through the underground. Toriel stood to their right, Asgore to their left. Alphys and Undyne stood close together, Alphys hovering near Asgore. Papyrus and sans were also there, smiling proudly down at Frisk. 

"Oh! You are awake!" Toriel said, relieved. "Thank goodness!" 

But Frisk was only half-listening, still spinning around the room to see if there was anyone else they had somehow missed. 

"W-we were so worried...!" Alphys said as Frisk milled about in a circle. "It felt like you were out forever!" 

"Yeah!" Undyne agreed. "Any longer and I would have freaked out! Tell us the next time you decide to take a nap, okay!?" 

"yeah," sans nodded. "you made papyrus cry like a baby." 

"WHAT!! I DIDN'T CRY!!! I DON'T CRY!!" Papyrus shouted. "I JUST...CAUGHT SOMETHING IN MY EYE."

"what did you catch?"

"TEARS!!!" 

"Now, now," Asgore spoke up, his deep voice bellowing softly from the left. "The important part is that Frisk is all right. Here, Frisk. Why not drink some tea? It'll make you feel better."

Frisk blanched in exasperation at the offer of tea, stunned that all of their friends were acting so calm when the other six humans weren't there. Dread churned in their stomach as they considered the possibility that the other humans hadn't been brought back at all. And if that were the case, there was only one place they could go to confirm or deny their fear. Bolting from the room, Frisk left their friends in a cloud of confusion.

* * *

Running through the sea of golden flowers that made up the Throne Room, Frisk burst into the hallway and to their left. Reaching the staircase, they took a deep breath and hoped they were right to believe their traveling companions had been returned to life. _Everyone else came back, right? Why not the other humans? Surely, Asriel used some of his power to pull that off, right?_

Frisk didn't know why they were bothering to ask Chara anything; they were starting to realize that their narrator may have been gone for good and that they couldn't rely on them for help anymore. They had to face this unknown by themself, they realized as they came to a stop at the top of the stairs leading to the castle's basement.

 _Like ripping off a bandaid._ Frisk told themself; and they realized, for a change, they weren’t even wearing that same old bandage they’d been using for weeks. Letting their breath out, Frisk began descending the staircase into the crypt.

About halfway down the stairs, Frisk got their answer.

“...and I don’t care if that flower is really Mom’s son, I am _not_ calling him my brother!”

“No one said you had to, Bell. We don’t even know if Mom knows about Flowey.”

“Just so you know, I’m not gonna call Asgore ‘Dad’.”

“Alex, I swear to God…”

Frisk smiled. They had never been happier to hear Robin arguing with Bell and Alex. Feeling more confident, they sped down the rest of the stairs and ran into the room.

“FRISK!” a relieved voice shouted out the second they stepped into view and suddenly Frisk was being tackled by Hop. The older kid gave a delighted laugh, hugging and squeezing Frisk as they toppled to the ground. “YOU DID IT, FRISK!! YOU DID IT!!!”

The two fell to the ground, hugging and giggling. While they held Hop, Frisk felt around for burns or wounds of any kind and found nothing. They were completely okay. Well, not completely. Just by touching them, Frisk could tell Hop’s clothes were singed and tattered beyond repair. Not all the damage had been undone.

Frisk had noticed something else as Hop had lunged for them. They hadn’t run over, but instead launched over by pushing off of a wall they had been leaning against. Sitting up, Frisk took a better look at Hop’s right leg. About halfway down their shin, a few inches above where their ankle would be, there was a completely healed stump and then nothing more.

Furrowing their brows, Frisk looked up at Hop with sorrowful eyes.

“Oh? That!?” Hop asked, leaning back on their elbows. “I lost my right foot battling Asgore and it kind of got burned to ash. So, I guess I couldn’t get it back. Just woke up and it was completely healed like this.”

Frisk felt their lip quiver and tried to bite back the tears threatening to fall, but couldn’t help crying the more they thought about Hop losing their foot. A few teardrops hit Hop’s ruined pant leg, alerting the slightly older kid to Frisk’s crying.

“Hey there, partner,” Hop said gently, sitting up to put an arm around Frisk. “Don’t feel too sorry about it, huh? This ain’t nothing. Remember how I was dead for a while there? Remember how _everyone_ was dead? Now, _that_ was something to cry over. We’re all alive, right?”

Frisk looked up at Hop and wiped their tears away and nodded; and they found, despite everything, they could manage a smile.

“There’s worse things than losing a foot,” Hop said, sniffing dismissively. “Way I see it, pretty fair deal considering Asriel brought us all back to life after shattering the barrier.”

Frisk gave them a confused look.

“Oh yeah, we know all about him,” Hop nodded, looking over their shoulder. “Twain, a little help, buddy?”

Twain came over and helped Hop up, draping their arm over their shoulders so they could stand without too much effort. 

"You're not the only one with Determination down here," Laurel winked.

"Although, I think you might have the most of it," Bell added. 

"Some time," Alex spoke up. "You'll have to tell us all the juicy details about that SAVE power of yours."

Frisk took a better look at their family. Like Hop, they were all healed and unmarred in body; but their clothes still bore the battle scars of facing Asgore. More than that, the signature items Frisk had come to associate with them were all missing.

Robin’s old faded ribbon was gone and their hair fell around them like a sunset printed on curtain. Frisk felt a twist of pain looking at how burnt their robe was; the hem was so singed on one side that Robin’s entire left leg was visible, the sleeves were all but nonexistent, and the embroidered emblem was torn through with a huge gash. But they were smiling and looking at Frisk with tears in their eyes like they couldn’t care less about their ruined clothes.

Alex’s headband was no longer there to hold their mess of hair back, and the whole thing was toppled into their face and sticking out at odd angles. The glove they’d found was gone, too. Their shorts were burnt up and their striped shirt was in tatters. They had a big gash over their chest as well, but they couldn’t have looked prouder of their appearance if they had been draped in awards and medals.

Bell’s clothes were in the worst shape. There wasn’t a single scrap of their tutu left and the shorts they wore underneath it were burnt at the edges. Only a couple strands of pink ribbon tied to their shins remained of their ballet slippers. There was a huge, gaping burn to the gut of their top and one shoulder strap was slashed clean through and flopping pathetically against their chest and back. They looked tired, but still gave Frisk a smile.

The first thing Frisk noticed about Laurel was that their glasses weren’t in place; they weren’t even pushed up on top of their head, they were gone for good. If Laurel was having trouble seeing, they didn’t let on and smiled at Frisk when they locked eyes. Their purple cardigan was burned, as well as their shirt; and their pants had been reduced to board shorts. Frisk noticed their notebook was nowhere in sight, and felt rotten about Laurel losing years of notes and work in a single flash of fire.

Twain’s clothes were the least burned and Frisk didn’t know if they should feel relieved or horrified at that. Because it meant that Twain hadn’t lasted too long against Asgore. And, if Frisk knew anything about Twain, the reason their apron and pan were missing was because they’d thrown them away at the beginning of the battle. But they gave Frisk a big smile nonetheless, their eyes teeming with tears of joy at seeing them again.

Frisk took another look at Hop. Apart from their ruined shirt and jeans, Hop’s hat had been blown clean off their head. One of their braids remained intact while the tie on the other had been lost and half of their hair was falling down in dark waves past their shoulder. Their gun holster was empty, empty as the gun in it had been of bullets. They gave Frisk another huge grin, not seeming to miss their gun and hat.

“Frisk,” Robin said, kneeling down in front of them and placing their hands gently on their arms. “You did it. You saved the entire underground...and us.”

Frisk shook their head, gesturing to all of the other six humans.

“We did it,” Frisk said.

Robin laughed. “I guess you’re right,” they admitted, wrapping their arms around Frisk and pulling them close.

“GROUP HUG!!!” Hop declared, launching forward with Twain and piling onto Frisk and Robin.

The others joined in a flash, each one trying to hug all of their siblings at once. Alex was the last one to join, if only for the privilege of squeezing their entire family in one big bundle.

When they all finally split apart, Frisk gasped as they remembered who was waiting upstairs. Tugging on Robin’s robe, Frisk pointed up the stairs frantically.

“Something’s up there?” Robin guessed.

Frisk nodded, patting the emblem on Robin’s chest.

Robin slowly turned their head to the staircase. “...Mom...is up there?”

Frisk nodded faster, smiling and bouncing on their feet.

Robin’s eye bulged and they were gone, bolting up the stairs in a flash of purple and ashes. The other siblings stared after them, giving Robin the head start they deserved. They’d waited long enough.

Alex laughed, tears coming to their eyes as well. “We really did make it, huh?”

“Yep,” Bell sighed, looking scared all of a sudden at the enormity of possibility waiting for them all on the surface. “We’re going back into the world.”

“Hey,” Laurel smiled and took Bell’s hand. “We’ll figure it out together, huh?”

“Yeah,” Bell smiled back. “But maybe...get you some new glasses first?”

“Oh, definitely! I can’t see anything,” Laurel confirmed.

“Not to cut you guys off…” Hop piped up from where they sat on the floor. “But can we _please_ go see Mom!?”

“Nah, Hop, I was thinking we’d just stay here for the rest of our lives,” Bell joked. “Of course we can go see Mom! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!!”

Hop cheered, turning towards the stairs. Twain and Laurel came in on either side of Hop and put one of their arms around each of their shoulders, helping them up the stairs.

Bell was about to head up when they noticed Alex wasn’t moving, just standing and staring at the staircase.

“What?” Bell asked, crossing their arms and smirking at their bewildered sibling.

“We’re going to see Mom again…” Alex breathed, as if painting a dream into the room with the statement.

“Mmhm,” Bell nodded.

Alex sighed, placing their hands on their hips and tapping their foot. “I guess this means Robin was right. _Again._ ”

“Yeah,” Bell laughed out loud, hands dropping to their sides. “Don’t you hate it when that happens?”

“Hmm,” Alex bit their lip. “This time...I don’t mind so much.”

“Me either,” Bell smiled. “Come on, let’s catch up.”

Alex nodded, turning for the stairs. "You coming, Frisk?" 

Frisk looked up from where they were kneeling next to the first coffin; giving a nod, Frisk held up a finger to indicate they would be up in one minute. 

"Alright," Alex said, giving them a thumbs up.

"See you soon," Bell waved.

Watching the last two go up the stairs, Frisk smiled after them. Once they were gone, they turned back to the first coffin; passing a hand over Chara's engraved name on the front. They hadn't noticed before but there were some kind of mummy wrappings at the bottom. Wrinkling their brow, Frisk wondered what had happened to the first human's body if it wasn't there. 

Then, they remembered how Toriel had left New Home after Asgore declared war. They remembered how their narrator had only started talking to them after they'd fallen down. There must have been something, Frisk realized, that woke Chara up enough for a piece of their soul to latch onto them.

 _But why me?_ Frisk wondered. _There were six other humans who fell down here before me. Why did you wake up for me?_

But no one replied.

* * *

Robin bolted through the Throne Room, the stems and petals of the golden flowers hitting gently against their bare ankles. Their heart pounded heavily against their chest, threatening to burst at any moment. Reaching the doorway at the back of the Throne Room, Robin didn’t even hesitate to run right through to the next room.

“Mother!” Robin shouted before they’d even gotten a good look around the room. Eyes flitting around, Robin saw a lot of familiar faces. Asgore was at their right, the two making brief eye contact in a breathless moment. Alphys was to his left, smiling in astonishment at seeing Robin alive. Undyne and Papyrus were in the middle, side by side, both grinning from ear-to-ear. Then, sans was to the left, grinning as always. And then…

Before Robin could turn their head, there came a flash of white and purple in their peripheral vision; and then, they were being lifted off their feet and cradled like they were three years old instead of eighteen.

“My child...” Toriel murmured, holding Robin so tightly they felt as if all of the air would go out of them.  “My child, you are safe…”

“Mom,” Robin sobbed, pressing their face into Toriel’s shoulder and squeezing her just as tightly as she was holding onto them. “Yeah, w-we’re all safe. We’re all safe.”

Toriel pulled back a little, just enough so she could look at Robin’s face. “I thought you had died,” she said, reaching up and brushing away the tears on Robin’s cheek. “I do not understand. How is this possible?”

“I told you I would see you again,” Robin smiled, laughing through their tears. “You didn’t think I would let some old king stop me, did you?”

Toriel smiled, pressing her forehead to Robin’s and taking a deep breath.

“Mom!” another voice sounded in the room and Bell came running into view, arms spread wide open and tears in their eyes.

“Bell!” Toriel crouched down, holding her free arm open and pulling her child into her embrace. “Thank goodness you are alright.”

“I’m so happy to see you!” Bell said, crying into the front of Toriel’s robe.

Alex came in next, glancing behind them to make sure the others were still following. Then, they looked into the room and immediately found Toriel.

“Alex,” Toriel breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing their name called out to them by their mother, Alex felt their face crumple and they began to sob. Rushing forward, they threw their arms around their mother and two siblings and cried into Toriel’s shoulder.

“I th-thought I would never see you a-again…” Alex cried.

“There, there…” Toriel shushed her child, stroking their back soothingly. “I understand. I felt the same way. But we are all here now. And as soon as your other siblings get here, we will all be together again.”

“Mom,” Robin piped up, face turning serious. “Before Hop shows up, there’s something you need to know about them. During battle, they-”

“MOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!” Hop’s voice shouted as they were helped into the clearing by Twain and Laurel.

“Hi, Mom,” Twain murmured, tears rushing to their eyes.

“Mom,” Laurel breathed, tears rushing down their face at the sight of their mother. Even with their blurred vision, they would recognize Toriel anywhere.

“My children!” Toriel beamed, setting the three eldest down gently before rushing to meet the three more who had arrived. “You are all safe. I cannot begin to tell you how worried I…”

Toriel trailed off, her face becoming grim as she got a better look at Hop. Her eyes zeroed in on Hop’s right leg, and the smile wiped from her face.

“Hop…” Toriel said softly, reaching out and taking her second youngest child in her arms. “My child, who has done this to you?”

“Uhh…” Hop scratched their ear, giving a nervous glance to Asgore before averting their eyes. It was a quick motion, but Toriel caught it. Her eyes locked on Asgore and she fixed him with a glare, rising to her full height.

“You did this to my child!?” she snarled, clutching Hop to her chest protectively.

“I…” Asgore faltered, taking a step back.

“And my other children...those burns in their clothing...I would recognize material damage from your flame attacks anywhere, Dreemurr,” Toriel spat. "How dare you torment such innocent, young children! I should-"

“Mom, wait,” Hop reached up and touched Toriel’s face, bringing her gaze over to them. “Please, no more fighting, okay?”

Toriel’s eyes softened as she looked down at her child. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Very well, my child. For you, I will put my anger aside.”

Hop breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing into their mother’s arms. 

"Well, I for one will NOT be putting my anger aside!!" Undyne shouted out. "Ngaaaahhhhh!!! Humans!! I was worried SICK about you! Who do you punks think you are, disappearing like that!?" 

"Sorry, Undyne," Robin laughed, rubbing the back of their neck. 

"AH C'MERE!!" Undyne yelled, putting an arm around Robin and giving them a noogie. 

"DON'T NOOGIE THE HUMANS!!" Papyrus scolded, swooping in to guard the others. "DO NOT WORRY, HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL PROTECT YOU!!!" 

The kids all laughed, relief pouring off of them like sand through cupped hands. 

"Hop, let me see your leg," Alphys offered, gingerly reaching up to examine Hop from where they were still cuddled in Toriel's arms. Toriel bent down, letting the short lizard monster get a better look at her child. 

"I should be able to make you a prosthetic, no problem! Your leg's already healed and everything, so, it's really just a matter of getting you fitted," Alphys smiled. "I just need to get to my lab and grab the materials." 

Hop's eye's lit up. "Can you give me a leg like Mettaton's!?!?" 

"Uhhh..." Alphys blushed. "I'll see what I can do." 

"Hop," Asgore said, coming forward to kneel before the human child nestled in Toriel's arms. He kept his head bowed, not daring to make eye contact with anyone. "Please, accept my deepest apologies for what has happened to you. I know it is my fault. And, for the rest of you human children, I apologize as well." 

The other siblings looked to Hop for their reaction before they said anything in response. 

"Well, I mean," Hop bit their lip. "Undyne tried to kill us a bunch of times and we're still friends...So, I guess...It's worth a fair chance, huh?" 

Asgore looked up, smiling at Hop with watery eyes. 

Frisk came peeking into the room then, hanging bashfully by the doorway as they looked at the reunion before them. Everyone seemed so happy, Frisk almost didn't want to step into the middle of the scene for fear of ruining it. 

"Hey!" Hop piped up, turning their head towards the door. "There you are, Frisk!!" 

"we were wondering where you ran off to," sans said. 

"Heya, punk!" Undyne grinned from where they were giving Alex a bone-crushing hug. "Get in on this!!" 

Frisk smiled, stepping into the room and joining the others. 

"Howdy, Frisk," Asgore said, walking up to the youngest human. "Sorry about almost trying to take your soul. I feel very bad about it. I hope we can still be pals."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Asgore!" Undyne piped up, hefting Bell and Laurel in each of her arms now. "It's like Hop was saying; I think everyone's tried to kill these kids at least once." 

"Oh...I see!" Asgore said. "In that case, I'm not sorry, Frisk." 

"ASGORE!" Undyne hollered. "That's not what I meant!" 

"SO, ASGORE," Papyrus slid in. "HOW ABOUT MAKING ME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD?"

"Well, Papyrus, now that the war is over..." Asgore said. "We might not need the Royal Guard anymore." 

"WHAT!?" Papyrus exclaimed. "THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE HUMANS' QUEST!?!? THEY JOURNEYED ALL THAT WAY...AND I'M STILL NOT A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!? TRULY, THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE ENDING." 

Frisk and the other kids laughed out loud at that; now that the worst was over, they all could laugh at their troubles together. 

"Hey, Mom, what happened to your phone?" Laurel asked, pointing to the shining hunk of metal sticking out of Toriel's pocket. 

"Oh, Alphys upgraded it for me," Toriel said; setting Hop down next to Alex, who helped them stand up straight. "I am having a lot of fun with the 'texting' feature. Sans, 'check out' this one." 

"oh man, tori..." sans chuckled, looking down at his phone screen. "that's brutal." 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED..." Papyrus said. "AND ALSO THAT SHE'S A HUGE DORK!! YOU TWO ARE TWO FEET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!! WHY ARE YOU TEXTING!!!" 

"Worry not, Papyrus," Toriel said. "We are texting for a good reason."

"WHY IS THAT."

"well," sans winked. "cause we're huge dorks."

"Sans, please do not say that," Toriel said. "You are not a dork. You are more of a bonehead!"

"HAHAHA, WOW!" Papyrus marveled. "THOSE PUNS ARE EVEN LESS FUNNY COMING FROM HER!" 

"Then why are you smiling?" Bell asked. 

"IT'S A PITY SMILE!" 

"Do not feel left out, children," Toriel said, turning to her kids. "I have been writing messages to you as well! You still have my phone number after all this time...Do you not?" 

"Uh, I think we might," Robin smirked, cutting a glance to Alex. 

"sans," Laurel spoke up, turning to the smaller skeleton. "Are you ever going to tell me how you teleport from room to room like you do?"

"sorry...i don't have time to talk, laurel," sans apologized. "i'm supposed to be working right now."

"But you're not working!" Laurel protested. 

"i know," sans winked. "and it's taking all my concentration."

"Psst, Robin..." Alphys tugged on the oldest child's robe and beckoned them to lean in closer.

"What's up?" Robin asked. 

"Um, you've gotta tell me," Alphys murmured. "D...Do you think Asgore and Toriel are...? Uh, ever gonna get back together?"

Robin looked up at Asgore who was offering Twain a cup of tea and then at Toriel who was trying to smooth down Alex's hair. 

"I'm gonna go with a solid 'No.' there, Alphys," Robin said, standing back up. 

"...yeah, that's what I thought," Alphys sighed. "A woman can dream though, right? And write fanfiction. A LOT of fanfiction." 

"A lot of, uh, what?" Robin glanced to their side, confused. 

"It's um...It's urrrr..." Alphys began to sweat. "You know, on second thought, maybe I WON'T write fanfic of real people. I mean, isn't real life already the greatest fanfiction of all?"

"Uh..." Robin wrinkled their eyebrows. "Yes...?"

"Uh, don't tell anyone I said that," Alphys added suddenly. "Cause I'm gonna post it online!" 

"Okay!" Robin nodded, turning away even more confused than ever. Spinning around, Robin almost walked right into Asgore's chest; they hadn't even seen him move across the small space.

"Oh, Robin!" Asgore jumped back a little bit so he wasn't as close to the human. "I just realized that since we aren't fighting each other...I can finally ask you 'Would you like a cup of tea?'....Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Uhh..." Robin spluttered, glancing to their Mother for help.

"Errrr...How about we give the children some space, first?" Toriel interjected. "They must be very exhausted. Though, from what, I am not certain. We do not remember exactly what happened. There was a flower...And then, everything went white. But now the barrier is gone."

"Sounds about right," Laurel nodded, pushing their bangs off their forehead. 

"When you are all ready, we will all return to the surface. It seems the dor to the east will lead us there now," Toriel said. "But before then...Perhaps you might want to take a walk? You can say goodbye to all of your wonderful friends. Do as you wish. We will all wait for you here." 

"Yeah!" Alphys agreed. "Although, first, why don't I fit you for a prosthetic, Hop? Then you can walk around on your own again." 

"Sounds good to me," Hop smiled, swinging their right leg back and forth as they leaned against Alex's side. 

"Great," Alphys smiled back. "Then, you should go find Mettaton. He was around here for a while, but then he said he had to go somewhere. He was pretty anxious to see you again, though. I-I mean, he was anxious to see all of you again...but especially Hop." 

"Haha, did you hear that? I'm Mettaton's favorite human!" Hop beamed. 

"I will try to contain my jealousy," Bell laughed. "Anyways, I think it's a great idea to take a walk around before we leave."

"Me too," Laurel agreed. "I have to, uh, go ask Gerson some very important questions."

"I did want to take one last look around the Ruins before we go," Robin said. 

"Yeah, me too," Alex said, lifting Hop up onto their shoulders.

"Me three!" Twain waved their hand excitedly. 

Frisk nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Well, then," Robin clapped their hands together once, smiling at all of their siblings. "Let's go!" 

* * *

"Laurel, watch out there's a wall to the right - Ah! No, my right!!" 

"Bell, we're facing the same way!" Laurel shouted, brushing the damp soil of Waterfall off of what remained of their sweater's shoulder. "You've gotta be the worst navigator in history!!" 

"I'm doing my best, come on!" Bell laughed. "Not my fault you lost your glasses."

"I didn't lose them, if you recall," Laurel said. "They were kind of blown off my face in an explosion of fire." 

"Excuses, excuses," Bell shook their head. "Anyways, we're here." 

Taking the lead, Bell guided their sibling into Gerson's shop. The old turtle monster smiled when the two humans came in, if not looking a little off-put by their charred ensembles. 

"Wah hah ha!" he laughed as the two walked up to the counter. "I knew you kids could do it!! Anything you wanna know?" 

"Fluffybuns!" Laurel slammed a hand down on the counter. "Why!?" 

"OK, OK! I remember it clearly now," Gerson said. "It was the monthly address at the castle, and the queen was giving her part on current events. After finishing her update, she moved to pass the microphone to the king."

"Yeah?" Laurel leaned in, itching for something to write the story down with.

"However, she didn't realized the microphone was still in her hands when she said," Gerson continued. "'Your turn, Fluffybuns.'"

"Hah!" Bell laughed, eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Oh man..." Laurel grinned. 

"The audience burst into laughter," Gerson said, a chuckle at his voice. "Realizing what she had said, she started laughing too. After a few moments, the king held up his arms. The crowd grew silent. He leaned towards the microphone, expression...Stern."

"Killjoy," Laurel muttered.

"Heh, literally," Bell winked.

"'Dear citizens,'" Gerson imitated Asgore's deep, bellowing voice. "'Thank you for coming here today. I...King Fluffybuns...'"

Bell and Laurel's faces dropped in shock for a second; then, they split into laughter.

"And the rest is history," Gerson finished.

"Wait, wait," Bell held up their hands as they calmed down from laughing. "Gerson, you gotta tell us, what's the history between Asgore and Toriel? They were married, right?" 

"Oh yeah! Of course," Gerson nodded. "Toriel was queen, and Asgore was the king. It was tragic when she left. Since everyone knew she was really the brains behind the throne..."

"I believe that," Laurel smiled. 

"Yeah," Bell agreed. "Toriel's so wise." 

"True, she is," Gerson said. "But it was also just a teensy, teensy bit relieving, you know?" 

"Oh? How come?" Laurel asked. 

"Those two were really insufferable together..." Gerson said. "Nuzzling noses, bein' all cute n' cuddly in public...Embarrassing their children...They were so sweet it made me SICK. Thank god those days are over!" 

"Eugh, yeah, thank god!" Bell agreed, wincing at the thought. "Thank god we weren't around for that!" 

"Hey, you two!" Robin popped their head into the shop suddenly, Frisk and Twain at their sides. 

"What's up?" Laurel asked. 

"I'm gonna go ahead and take these two back to Snowdin," Robin said. "Hop's with Alex, they went to go see Mettaton. Meet us at Grillby's when you're done and we'll all head back for the Ruins together." 

"Okay!" Bell saluted their older sibling. 

"Remember to put your boots on when you get to Snowdin," Robin reminded them. 

Giving a wave to Gerson, Robin turned and left with the two younger siblings. 

"Okay, back to business!" Laurel said, turning to Gerson with a fire in their eyes. "What can you tell us about Undyne?" 

* * *

"METTATOOOONNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!" Hop called, riding into the area with the ghost-shaped houses on Alex's shoulders. "AND NAPSTABLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!! HOW ARE YOU GUYS!?!?!?"

"Hop-darling! There you are!" Mettaton spun around, smiling as the smaller human came speeding over to him. "Feast your eyes! Dr. Alphys completed my wonderful new body!"

"It's AMAZING! And look!" Hop exclaimed, sticking their right leg up into Mettaton's arms so he could see their new prosthetic. "I lost my old foot; so, Alphys gave me this cool new metal one!! I'm still getting used to walking on it, so Alex is letting me ride around on their shoulders."

"Don't get too comfortable up there!" Alex called from where they were talking with Napstablook. 

"Oh darling!" Mettaton gasped, examining the prosthetic. "It's G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!! Never in my life did I ever think a human's appendage could rival the beauty of mine, but Dr. Alphys truly does work wonders."

"Yeah, and it gets better!!" Hop beamed, setting their foot on the ground. Reaching down, they pointed to a little pink heart-shaped button on the ankle. "Check this out!" 

Pressing the button, Hop struck a dramatic pose as pink metal shot up around their leg. In an instant, Hop was wearing a child-sized replica of Mettaton's pink boots on their right leg. Mettaton gasped again, tears forming in his eyes as he pressed both hands to his face. 

"Darling, I am BEYOND flattered!" Mettaton gushed. "You simply HAVE to perform in my act with me!! I...Owe you an enormous thanks...Before fighting you, I had forgotten how much fun performing with others is! That's why I've been searching for HOT TALENTS to fill my upcoming troupe. So far, Shyren's agreed to be my back-up singer. And Bl...Napstablook, here, will be my sound mixer! The three of us performing together...It really feels overdue, doesn't it?"

Hop glanced over to Napstablook and gave them a smile. "Yeah, I bet it does." 

"So, what do you say, darling?" Mettaton asked. "Care to join the act?"

"Haha! I would LOVE to!!" Hop said. "But uh..." they reached down and pressed the button on their ankle again, retracting the pink boot from their leg. "Mom says that button's only for special occasions."

"What!? Haven't you heard? The barrier is OPEN!" Mettaton exclaimed, picking Hop up in his arms with ease and spinning them in a circle. "What could be MORE special than that!? Oooh! I can't wait to see the sun...the greatest spotlight of all!" 

"Me either!" Hop said. "I mean, I have seen the sun before. But it's been three years! I can't wait!! And I'm...I'm so glad you're gonna be coming up with us too, Mettaton." 

"But of course!" Mettaton beamed. "Darling, I wouldn't miss it for the world." 

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Laurel was saying from where they were sitting across from Alex in a booth at Grillby's. "Napstablook closed their blinds...and that's how they avoided being absorbed by Asriel!?" 

"That's what they told me," Alex shrugged. 

"Hah!" Bell laughed. "If only it had been that easy for us." 

"Yeah, well," Robin leaned back, holding Frisk on their lap. "If it had been easy, it might not have been as heroic." 

"True," Bell nodded. "But we wouldn't have had to die." 

"You do raise an excellent point," Robin said. "Plus, uh, our clothes might still be intact." 

"Robin, I'm sorry about your robe," Twain said, grabbing their oldest sibling's arm sympathetically. "I'm sure Mom can make you a new one."

"Actually, Twain," Robin said, looking down at their robe. "I think it might be time for a change of wardrobe once I reach the surface." 

"Honestly, I think we could all do with a change of clothes at this point," Alex chuckled, pointing to the huge hole in the middle of their shirt. 

"So it's settled!" Hop exclaimed. "First thing we do when we reach the surface is go shopping!!" 

"With what money?" Laurel raised an eyebrow. 

"Uh, think solid gold coins will do?" Hop held up a handful of gold. 

"Oh yeah..." Bell smiled. "I totally forgot how valuable this stuff is on the surface. Heh, guess we're rich!"

"I guess so," Robin laughed. "So, who else did you guys go to see?"

"I saw Shyren again!!" Bell lit up. "She was with her sister who, uh, looked a little rough...But they were both so happy to be back together!" 

"Woshua was telling us how he's intimidated by the surface because the entire top layer of it is dirt," Twain said. "I-I didn't have the heart to tell him that he's been living under mounds of dirt for all these years." 

"There are SO many dogs!!" Hop exclaimed. "SO MANY DOGS OUTSIDE!!! I've patted all of them." 

"It's true, I was there," Alex said. "We almost froze to death because Hop was petting them for so long." 

"You were freezing," Hop corrected them. "I was snuggled under the warmth of a dozen fluffy dogs." 

"I guess some things never change," Robin smiled, leaning their hand on their cheek. "Well, do you think you guys are ready to head back to the Ruins?"

"Yeah, let's do it!!" Alex cheered, pumping a fist into the air. 

The other kids cheered in agreement, launching to their feet and heading for the door.

"Bye Grillby!!" Hop called, waving to the fire monster who was standing at the counter as quiet as ever. But as the kids turned to leave, he made a noise like he wanted to say something. The humans turned around in amazement. 

Grillby took a deep breath; then, he lifted his head and gave the seven humans a warm look.

"....good job." 


	34. Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter! Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> PSA: I added a big chunk to Chapter 33 after publishing it originally! You might want to go back and check to make sure you got everything in there!! It should end with the kids talking to Grillby!

****************************

!!!BEFORE WE COMMENCE!!!

[Firetan](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Firetan/profile) on here drew a really beautiful picture of Robin for me and I am eternally grateful! You can see it on my blog [here!](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/post/149012491676/heres-a-robin-art-for-you-sorry-about-the-crappy)

[SpiritusRex](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritusRex/pseuds/SpiritusRex) on here drew a really wonderful picture of Hop for my birthday and I love it! You can see it on their blog [here!](http://ghoststrawberries.tumblr.com/post/155947028177/a-very-belated-bday-drawing-for)

Also, in general, you can find some more stuff for this fic right [here on my blog](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/tagged/grouptale-fic)!

Okay, now, on with the fic!!!

****************************

The seven humans traveled back through Snowdin Forest. On the way, they ran into some of the very first monsters they'd met after leaving Home. They passed Snowdrake and his family, all of them together again. Frisk had gone up to see their Snowman friend again, this time returning with a mission to take the Snowman Piece they had up to the surface with them. They passed sans' sentry station and his conveniently-shaped lamp, laughing at the distant memory of having to all hide behind it.

And then they were back at the gateway. The huge, looming doorway to the Ruins stretching out in front of them. After all the time they'd spent convinced they wouldn't ever be able to go back to the Ruins, they were just a few steps from it. Robin tried to say something, but found themself overwhelmed with emotion as they thought about seeing Home again. 

Bell, on the other hand, did not. 

"Well!?" Bell asked, hands on their hips. "Are we going in or are we gonna stand here and freeze to death instead!?" 

"Bell, shush!" Alex exclaimed, grabbing at Bell's face to keep them quiet. 

"AHHH!!! Unhand me, villain!" Bell cried, reaching out to Robin as Alex hefted them off the ground. "Save me from this maniac, Robin! You're my only hope!!" 

"You two, honestly!" Robin laughed, tugging Bell out of Alex's clutches and setting them on the ground. "Come on, let's go Home." 

Following Robin's lead, the kids all passed through the gateway. They walked through the long purple hallway that lead to the gateway, shuddering at the memory of the last time they'd all been down there. Turning down the different turns, the group eventually came to the bottom of the stairs that would lead up into their Home. 

Taking a deep breath, Robin reached their hand around the railing and started upwards. 

The kids climbed the stairs, each one of them feeling different combinations of apprehension and excitement. They weren't sure what to expect; not sure if Toriel had turned the house upside down to get rid of anything that could remind her of them, not sure if the house would even still be there for some reason or another. Reaching the top of the staircase, the kids let out a collective sigh of relief. 

Everything looked the same as it had before they left. The same books on the shelves, the same plants on the tables, the same warm yellow light of their house spreading over every surface.

Twain made a beeline for the kitchen, calling something about having to grab their cookbook before heading to the surface. Bell and Laurel joined hands and ran to the living room, while Alex took Hop to see their bedroom one last time. Frisk stuck with Robin, following close to the hems of their robes; watching as the oldest sibling took in their surroundings. 

"It's funny," Robin said, running their hand over a height chart on the one doorframe. "I was so insistent that I would come back here, but...You know, Frisk, I really wasn't sure I would ever see this place again."

Frisk smiled, taking Robin's hand. Robin smiled back. 

"Thank you, Frisk," they said, kneeling down so they were on the child's eye level. "You really changed everything down here. If you hadn't fallen down, we'd all still be exactly where we were when you got here. I know it wasn't easy, and I know it wasn't a happy journey all the time; but, looking back, it was something that had to happen." 

Robin took a deep breath, looking around their Home. 

"Toriel was right," Robin continued. "It wouldn't have been right for all of us to live and die down here. Not when there's so much just outside our front door. I think I was so afraid of losing the one place I had ever been happy, that I didn't stop to think that I could find happiness somewhere else. But now...I know I can be happy anywhere. So long as I'm with people who care about me. But I will still be homesick for this place sometimes." 

Frisk patted Robin's hand, glancing to the side and catching a glimpse of themself in the mirror. Turning to their reflection, Frisk looked themself up and down. Robin caught them looking at their reflection and came up next to them. 

"Still just you, Frisk," Robin smiled.

Frisk grinned back up at them. "Still just us."  

* * *

"And we have to take this picture with us!!" Hop insisted, stacking another frame into Alex's hands. 

"Aw, come on, Hop!" Alex whined. "I look horrible in that picture!" 

"I don't care!!" Hop exclaimed. "It's a priceless memory, and I'm not leaving it behind!" 

"It's a picture of you shoving leaves in my face," Alex said. 

"I know," Hop nodded. "Priceless."

"Wow!" Alex laughed, but didn't put up anymore protest to taking the picture with them. 

"You two packing up?" Robin asked, coming into the room that belonged to Hop, Bell, and Laurel. 

"Yes, and Hop is trying to mortify me with that embarrassing picture of us," Alex complained. 

"The leaf picture?" Robin asked. "That's a classic." 

"Wait, did I hear you guys mention the leaf picture?" Bell popped their head in the doorway, Laurel next to them. "That one's mine, no one take it!" 

"Why don't we have any embarrassing pictures of you, huh?" Alex asked as Bell came over and gathered their picture from Hop. 

"Because I never do anything embarrassing," Bell said, flipping their hair. 

"Uh, more like because Bell's the one who took all the pictures," Laurel laughed. "They've done plenty of embarrassing stuff. Like, remember the one time, you were running around the Ruins and you tripped and fell directly into the-"

"Um...Uh...No, I don't recall!!" Bell interrupted. "Anyways, it's all in the past. Who cares?" 

"I care very deeply," Alex said. "Now, Laurel, what exactly did Bell fall into?" 

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Twain's small voice piped up as they stepped into the room.

"No, no! Please, by all means, interrupt!" Bell said.

"What is it, Twain?" Robin asked. 

"Oh, nothing much," Twain said. "Just...Do any of you know where Frisk went?" 

* * *

Frisk felt bad for leaving without a word, but not bad enough not to do it. There was something they wanted to see, and they couldn't tell any of the others about it. Well, they could have; but they didn't want them to know. They had never told them about their narrator, and wasn't sure how they'd react to finding out that they'd traveled all the way through the underground with a dead kid in their head. Now, they were going back to where it had all began; at least, where they assumed it had. They couldn't be sure if their hunch was right or just that, a hunch.

Crossing through the Ruins, Frisk paused a couple of time to talk to a Froggit or two. Ultimately, though, they were able to make it back to the start without much stopping. Crossing over the single patch of grass they'd first met Flowey on, Frisk passed through the doorway to get to the first part of the underground the ever encountered.

Walking up the little gray path, Frisk saw the patch of golden flowers that had broken their fall come into focus. As they moved closer, something else came into focus as well. Standing by the edge of the flower bed, was a small white goat monster in a striped shirt.

Coming up next to Asriel, Frisk gave their friend a gentle touch on the arm. A bit surprised, Asriel turned and smiled at Frisk. When he saw they weren't smiling back, his face fell a little bit and he turned a kind gaze to Frisk.  

"Don't worry about me," Asriel said. "Someone has to look after these flowers."   

But Frisk wasn't satisfied with that answer. Planting their feet firmly in the ground, Frisk crossed their arms and remained right by Asriel's side. 

"Frisk," Asriel sighed. "Please, leave me alone. I can't come back. I just can't, okay? I don't want to break their hearts all over again...It's better if they never see me." 

Frisk blew air out of their cheeks, dropping their stolid stance and sitting down at the edge of the flower bed. 

"...why are you still here?" Asriel asked after a time, smiling gently. "Are you trying to keep me company?"

Frisk looked up at Asriel and shrugged, indicating that they had nothing they'd rather be doing. Asriel laughed a little, turning back to gaze at the golden flowers. 

"Hey," he said at last. "Let me ask you a question." 

Frisk nodded to say they were listening, but didn't promise an answer. 

"Why did you come here?" Asriel asked, simple as anything. "Everyone knows the legend, right...? 'Travelers who climb Mt. Ebott are said to disappear.' Why would you ever climb a mountain like that? Was it foolishness? Was it fate? Or was it… Because you...?"

Frisk looked up, eyebrows raised in a neutral position. They didn't say anything. 

"Well…" Asriel smiled. "Only you know the answer, don't you...?"

There was a short pause, and Asriel's face turned sad as he looked at the flowerbed stretched out at his feet.

"I know why Chara climbed the mountain," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "It wasn't for a very happy reason."

Frisk frowned, remembering their narrator's sad story. They could pretty much put the puzzle pieces together for themself and didn't prompt Asriel for more of an explanation. 

"I'll be honest with you. Chara hated humanity," Asriel said, clutching at the golden locket around his neck. "Why they did, they never talked about it. But they felt very strongly about that."

For about the billionth time, Frisk checked to see if Chara was listening. But they couldn't feel anything from the back of their head. Deep down they knew Chara's soul had finally found peace and was laid to rest, but Frisk still wished they could talk to them again. It felt a little selfish to wish for that, but Frisk just missed their friend. 

"Frisk…" Asriel continued, turning to look at Frisk again. "You really ARE different from Chara. In fact, though you have similar, uh, fashion choices…I don't know why I ever acted as if you were the same person."

Frisk blinked up at the small prince. 

"Maybe...The truth is...Chara wasn't really the greatest person," Asriel sighed, eyes dropping to the ground. 

It made Frisk sad to hear that; knowing how much Chara cared and how much they had grown just coming on this journey with them...Frisk thought they were pretty wonderful. Sure, they had their temper and could get nasty sometimes; but Frisk understood them and, at the end of the day, knew a lot of it came from a place of pain.

"While, Frisk..." Asriel kept going, not missing a beat. "You're the type of friend I wish I always had. So maybe I was kind of projecting a little bit. Let's be honest. I did some weird stuff as a flower."

Frisk smiled a little at that. 

"There's one last thing I feel like I should tell you," Asriel said. "Frisk, when Chara and I combined our SOULs together...The control over our body was actually split between us. They were the one that picked up their own empty body. And then, when we got to the village...They were the one that wanted to... to use our full power. I was the one that resisted. And then, because of me, we..."

Frisk's smile wiped away. Asriel bit his lip, grimacing at a bad memory.

"Well, that's why I ended up a flower," Asriel laughed nervously. "This whole time, I've blamed myself for that decision. That's why I adopted that horrible view of the world. 'Kill or be killed.' But now...After meeting you...After meeting your friends...Frisk, I don't regret that decision anymore."

Asriel took a deep breath, nodding in confidence at the statement. 

"I did the right thing," he said. "If I killed those humans…We would have had to wage war against all of humanity. And in the end, everyone went free, right?"

Frisk nodded, a smile growing on their face again.

"I still feel kind of sad knowing how long it took…" Asriel murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "... so maybe it wasn't a perfect decision. But you can't regret hard choices your whole life, right? Well, not that I have much of a life left. But that's besides the point. Frisk, thank you for listening to me."

Frisk stood up and took Asriel's hand in theirs, giving it an affectionate pat. 

Asriel laughed softly, patting their hand right back. "You should really go be with your friends now, OK?"

Frisk was about to protest, when a noise sounded near the end of the hall. 

"Frisk?" a distant voice called, growing closer. "Frisk, are you-" 

Robin strode into the clearing, the other five humans trailing after them. When they saw who was with Frisk, Robin frozen in their tracks. The other five humans followed suit, each one paralyzed with shock at seeing Asriel standing before them. 

"Oh," Robin said, breathless. Then, their face quirked up into an uncertain smile. "Hi...?"

"Um..." Asriel backed away a little, sheepishly looking up to the other humans. "Howdy!" 

Hop peeked their little face out from behind Robin, trying to see what had made everyone stop. When they saw Asriel standing with Frisk, their eyes lit up and they gave a soft yell of delight.

"ASRIELLLLLLL!!!" Hop cheered, breaking from the group and launching over to the small goat monster with both arms out. They were still a little awkward on their new foot, and tumbled Asriel into the flower bed with the sheer impact of their hug. Pulling themself up into a kneeling position, Hop leaned over Asriel as he lay stunned on his back in the golden flowers. "I'M SO. HAPPY. TO. SEE. YOU!!!!! DO YOU REMEMBER ME?? I WAS IN YOUR HEAD NOT TOO LONG AGO!!!!"

Asriel was a little taken aback by Hop's forwardness, and stared up at them in shock for a moment before his face broke into a shy smile. 

"Y-yes, I remember you, Hop," Asriel said, looking nervously up at the human. "You don't...You don't hate me?" 

"Hate you!?!?" Hop wrinkled their eyebrows. "Of course I don't!!!" 

Asriel's eyes teared up a little, and he moved to wipe them away before anyone could notice.

"Hop, come on," Alex spoke up, walking over and lifting their younger sibling off of the prince and setting them down. "Keep doing that and you'll turn him into Robin."

"Oh, and what is that supposed to mean!?" Robin stepped up, putting their hands on their hips.

"Oh!" Alex imitated their sibling's voice. "You guys are-"

"-gonna give me a heart attack!!" the other siblings finished, each one clutching their chest dramatically. 

"Ha ha ha," Robin rolled their eyes, turning to Asriel and offering him a hand up. "Sorry about my obnoxious siblings." 

"Aw, hey!" Bell piped up. "Kinda hurts, Robin." 

Asriel stared at Robin's offered hand. When they saw him staring, Robin just gave him a warm smile. Their loose auburn hair fell over one shoulder and caught on the dwindling sunlight coming from the top of the cavern. Smiling back, Asriel took the offered hand and stood up. 

"So nice to, uh, see you again...?" Laurel squinted, still barely able to see without their glasses. 

"So, Asriel," Twain said, smiling as they stepped shyly up to the monster. "Are you coming back to the surface, too?" 

"I..." Asriel bit his lip. "I wish I could...But..."

"But you can't," Bell finished the sentence for him. Asriel nodded solemnly. 

"WHAT!?!?" Hop exclaimed. "BOOOO!! That's not fair!!"

"Hah," Asriel smiled at Hop. "It doesn't feel like it, does it? I want more time than I got but, the truth is, I'm already past due on leaving."

"Are you scared?" Alex asked, kneeling down so they were at Asriel's height. 

Asriel smiled sadly. "Were YOU scared when it happened to you?" 

"Terrified," Alex grinned, throwing their arms around the small goat monster. "You'll be alright though, buddy. We're not gonna forget about you." 

"Of course we won't," Robin agreed, throwing their arms around Asriel as well. 

"I'll never forget you, Asriel!" Hop sobbed, wrapping Asriel in another hug. 

"I'll make a note of it," Laurel winked, grabbing one of Asriel's paws. 

"Well, how could we forget you?" Twain beamed, sidling up to Asriel. "You're our brother, aren't you?" 

"Yeah," Bell nodded, stepping up and ruffling Asriel's furry head. "Even if you are shitty in your flower form, it's not like it's your fault. You're still a cool kid." 

Asriel blinked back tears, pressing his face into Alex's muscular arm and taking a deep breath. Frisk joined the hug too, glad to be part of the group. Glad to be part of the family. They all stayed like that for a while; until Asriel shifted just enough so he could see all of the humans. 

"Please," he said, tears staining his cheeks. "If you, uh, see me in the future...Please, don't think of it as me, okay? I just want you to remember me like this. Someone that was your friend for a little while." 

"No problem," Alex smiled, pulling back and clapping their hands onto Asriel's shoulders reassuringly. "Does that mean I have clearance to punch that flower in the face?" 

"Hee hee hee," Asriel giggled, voice full of relief at the tension break. "You have my permission. If I could do it myself, I would." 

The others laughed at that, their faces full of joy as they sat with Asriel in the golden flowers. 

"Anyway," Asriel smiled, giving all seven humans a last long look. "You guys should really go be with the others now, OK? A lot of people are waiting to see you again." 

"But I don't want to leave you, Asriel!" Hop exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm and squeezing it tightly to them as tears began to roll down their cheeks. "AAAAH!! I'LL STAY HERE UNTIL THE END!! I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE ALONE WHEN YOU HAVE TO LEAVE!!!!!"

"It's okay, Hop," Asriel said, patting their arm. "I don't want you to see that, please. My last wish is for you and the rest of your family to go be with the people who love you. Please, can you do that for me?"

Hop pulled back, sniffling loudly as tears gushed down their face. "I'll...I'll t-try for you, Asriel!!"

"Come here, Hop," Robin knelt down, spreading their arms for their younger sibling. Hop went bolting to Robin, crashing into their chest and sobbing heavily into their ruined clothes. Standing back up, Robin held Hop in their arms and smiled softly at Asriel. "You're a good person, Asriel. Don't forget that, okay? For as long as you can remember, don't forget that you are loved." 

Asriel nodded, biting his lip to keep from crying.  

"Well," Robin let a heavy breath out, turning to the rest of their siblings. "Should we head back?" 

"Oh, wait!" Asriel called before the kids could respond. "There's one more thing." 

"Yes?" Robin turned back around. 

Asriel smiled at the humans, his gaze sad. "Be careful in the outside world, okay? Despite what everyone thinks, it's not as nice as it is here."

"What do you mean?" Bell asked, brows knitting together. 

"There are a lot of Floweys out there," Asriel rubbed his arm, looking down. "And not everything can be resolved just by being nice."

Asriel took a shaky breath, then, dragged his eyes up to the seven humans. 

"Don't kill, and don't be killed, alright?" he said, smiling up at the others. "That's the best you can strive for."

The seven humans smiled, nodding in understanding. No one said anything, just stood in a peaceful quiet.

"Well, see you," Asriel gave one last smile and then turned back to look at the golden flowers. 

The others looked to Robin for the go-ahead, but their oldest sibling remained where they stood. They didn't want to leave Asriel either.

When he heard that the humans still hadn't left, Asriel glanced over his shoulder and grinned.

"Guys..." he said, eyes brimming with tears. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

* * *

Eventually, the seven humans did leave Asriel. None of them had wanted to, but the small monster had been so insistent on their departing before he turned back into Flowey that they were all but chased from the area. And even though they were sad about losing Asriel, walking back through the underground brought them all a strange sense of peace. Seeing every place where they'd stepped on their journey made them nostalgic and emotional even over the hard times they had faced. 

All of this was punctuated with text messages from Toriel. And by the time the kids made their way to the CORE's elevator to New Home, their mother's silly messages had lifted their spirits considerably. As they walked back down the drab gray hallways that made up King Asgore's castle, the humans smiled and ran their hands against the smooth stone walls. They passed through the judgement hall and saw twilight was still winding down to sunset in the glass windows. 

Golden flowers stroked their bare ankles and feet as they walked through the Throne Room. Through everything that had happened, the birds had continued to sing overhead. 

Then, they were back with all of their friends and family. Exchanging expressions of apprehension and excitement with everyone, the humans all agreed that it was time to go. 

With Robin at the front, the group began to walk through the great doorway that had once led to the barrier. Now when they passed through, all that stood in their way was another doorway. Looking up at the oddly familiar purple gate, the humans took pause as they realized that passing through this door meant the end of their journey.

"This is it," Alex said, eyes scanning over every detail of the gateway. "One more step and it's all over." 

"One journey ends...Another begins..." Laurel spoke, hooking their arm through Bell's. "It would just be stupid to give up now."

"Still," Bell blushed. "Even I have to admit, moving forward from all of this is really hard."

"Yeah," Hop agreed. "Feels like we're leaving something behind."

Frisk nodded, hugging onto Hop's arm and pressing their cheek into what remained of their striped shirt sleeve. 

"Well, it is sad that it has to end," Twain admitted, looking up at their siblings with their big eyes. "But at least we get to bring everyone with us. At least we're all making it out of here together." 

"Twain's right," Robin spoke up at last, flashing their siblings a confident smile. "It's the same concept as it's been the entire time we've been down here. The very thing that convinced me to get out of the house, that's what we should be remembering right now." 

"And what might that be?" Alex raised an eyebrow. 

Robin smiled, shaking their head and giving a soft laugh. Turning around so they were facing all of their siblings full-on, Robin put their hands on their hips and drew their shoulders back as they began to speak. 

"If we move forward together, no one gets left behind." 

The words hung in the air like mist on an autumn morning. As the statement sank in, the other six human children began to smile as well. Soon, everyone was grinning just as carefree as their eldest sibling, and all of their feelings of doubt and loss became like distant memories. Still there, but not enough to distract from what was happening right then. 

"Now," Robin gave the others their best stern look while still smiling. "Are you guys ready?" 

"Well, I guess it's now or never," Alex shrugged, smiling with a flash of their dimples. "I'm ready." 

"Okay," Hop nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready, too." 

"Me too," Bell smiled. 

"So am I," Laurel agreed. 

"As long as we're all going," Twain said. "I'm always ready to take the next step."

Robin smiled, turning to the only other kid who hadn't answered. "Frisk?"

Frisk looked up at all of the other humans. They'd be lying if they told themself they were ready to go through the gateway with no apprehension whatsoever. It was different from how it had been before they'd fallen down. On the surface, there was nothing to hold them back. Only after falling down had Frisk realized what made everyone so cautious of going beyond the established pattern of the day-to-day; there were things in the underground worth staying for. It wasn't everything, but it was enough. But, as they looked up at the other six, Frisk realized that what Robin had said was true. Moving forward with someone made the journey so much more worth it. 

Giving a thumbs up, Frisk nodded in agreement. They were ready. 

"Then," Robin clapped their hands, turning back to the gateway. "Here goes nothing." 

Robin began to walk, and had to stop and laugh when they realized the added weight of their siblings holding onto them. Hop and Twain gripped what was left of their skirts, Bell clambered for their hand, Laurel had wrapped their arms around their waist, Alex held their arm in both of their hands, and Frisk held gently to the ends of their long hair. 

"It's gonna be okay, guys," Robin said. "Let's go." 

And together, they all went through the gateway.

* * *

Humans and monsters had gone free just in time for sunset. As the seven humans had wandered through the gateway, all of their monster companions came trickling out soon afterwards. At the edge of the path leading out of the cavern, all of them had stopped to admire the sky. Warm orange and gold streaked the horizon, and the sun warmed the faces of everyone observing it. 

"Oh my..." Toriel breathed, admiring the view with both arms around all of her children.  

"Isn't it beautiful, everyone?" Asgore asked from where he stood at the end of the line. 

"Wow..." Alphys murmured. "It's e-even better than on TV. WAY better! Better than I ever imagined!" 

"You guys LIVE with this!?" Undyne exclaimed, grinning at her human friends. "The sunlight is so nice...and the air is so fresh! I really feel alive!" 

"Me too," Robin sighed, leaning contentedly into their mother's side. "It's been too long." 

"HEY SANS..." Papyrus spoke up. "WHAT'S THAT GIANT BALL?" 

"we call that 'the sun', my friend," sans said. 

"THAT'S THE SUN!?" Papyrus shouted. "WOWIE!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!!!" 

"i could stand here and watch this for hours..." Asgore smiled, the sun glinting off his crown. 

"Me too!!" Hop agreed, turning to flash a grin at Asgore. The king's face brightened even more at Hop's smile. 

"Yes, it is beautiful, is it not?" Toriel agreed. "But we should really think about what comes next."

"Oh, right," Asgore nodded. "Everyone...This is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters. Frisk...I have something to ask of you. Will you act as our ambassador to the humans?" 

Frisk winced at the offer immediately. They didn't want to say no, but they didn't want that responsibility thrust on them at such a young age either. Thankfully, their siblings seemed to agree it was a ridiculous proposition as well and made no hesitation of jumping into the conversation. 

"Frisk!?" Alex raised their eyebrows. "Are you serious!?!?" 

"Yeah, I mean..." Bell made a face. "I know they saved us all and everything but, uh...They're like nine years old, dude." 

"I think Robin would be a much better candidate," Laurel suggested. 

"Wh-what!?" Robin blushed. 

"YEAH!!" Hop spun towards their oldest sibling. "Robin's a natural leader! I would follow them anywhere!!" 

"Plus," Twain piped up. "They've had to manage all of us this whole time." 

"Haha, yeah!" Alex laughed. "Anyone who can come out of wrangling us six alive can certainly mediate between monsters and humans." 

Frisk nodded vigorously, a wide smile splitting across their face. 

"I must agree with your siblings, Robin," Toriel spoke up, taking their child's hand. "You have extraordinary patience and incomparable sensibility. You would make a wonderful ambassador. In the end though, the decision is yours." 

"Robin, what do you say?" Asgore asked.

"Well, I..." Robin's ears burned red. "If you all really feel so strongly about it then I...I gladly accept." 

Everyone burst into cheers of encouragement at Robin's acceptance of the position. 

"YEAH!!" Papyrus cheered out loudest of all. "ROBIN WILL BE THE BEST AMBASSADOR! AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...WILL BE THE BEST MASCOT! I'LL GO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!" 

Taking to his heels, Papyrus sped off down the trail that led to the base of the mountain. 

"welp," sans shrugged. "someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble. see you guys." 

With that, sans turned around and walked directly back into the underground. 

"SAAANS!!!" Laurel roared. "If I get to the bottom of this mountain and you're there I'm going to rattle your bones!" 

"Man," Undyne shook her head. "Do I have to do EVERYTHING??? Papyrus, wait!!!" 

Undyne took off next, bolting down the mountain after her best friend. 

"Hey, Undyne!!" Alphys called. "Wait up!!!" 

Alphys waddled off then, leaving just Toriel and Asgore and the seven humans left of the mountain's ledge. 

"Whoops," Asgore blushed, turning sheepishly towards Toriel and the humans. "Uh, should I do something?" 

Toriel gave Asgore a stony glare, her eyebrows dipping judgmentally. 

"Well, gotta go!" Asgore piped up, retreating down the mountain.

"See you in a minute, Asgore!!" Hop called, waving after the King of All Monsters.

Toriel stared after all of the other monsters' diminishing figures as they traveled down the mountain.

"It seems that everyone is quite eager to set off," she observed. "My children...You came from this world, right...? So you must all have somewhere to return to, I suppose...What will you do now?"  

Toriel looked away nervously as she waited for her children's responses. 

"Mom..." Bell spoke up first, taking Toriel's hands and looking up into her eyes. "You know I have a family on the surface I have been waiting a long time to see." 

"Yes, my child, I know," Toriel nodded. 

"I have to go see them again," Bell said. "They're still my family after all this time." 

"I understand," Toriel said, closing her eyes. 

"But," Bell added. "So are all of you." 

Toriel opened her eyes a peek to look down at Bell's beaming face. 

"I would really, really love it..." Bell said, their voice hitching as they struggled not to cry. "If I could still be a part of this family, even if I have another one." 

"Oh, my child..." Toriel kneeled down, wrapping Bell in her strong arms. "You will always be a part of my family, no matter what." 

"Really?" Bell sniffed, pressing their face into Toriel's shoulder. 

"Of course," Toriel smiled, pulling back so she could wipe Bell's tears away. 

"Then..." Bell looked to their other siblings. "Would you all mind very much if I introduced you to my surface family as soon as I see them again?" 

"Bell, how could you even ask that..." Alex closed their eyes, shaking their head with a stern scowl. After a moment, though, their grim facade cracked and they gave a laugh. "Do you think I would, for one second, miss out on catching your family up on all of the embarrassing stuff you did while you were underground!?" 

Bell laughed in relief, more tears falling down their cheeks. 

"Y-you jerk!" Bell half-laughed, half-sobbed. "First thing I'm doing is showing them the leaf picture so they know what a nerd you are." 

"Oh, that's it!" Alex reached out and picked Bell up, swinging them around in a circle. "Surrender that picture or face your doom!" 

The two laughed and played at a fight for a moment before Alex set Bell down and turned back to Toriel. Alex looked up at Toriel and their face turned a touch more serious. The two stared at each other for a moment, Toriel's face growing a touch anxious the longer the silence pursued. 

"Oh, come on, Mom!" Alex laughed, coming forward and hugging Toriel. "You know I don't have anywhere else to go. You're my family. I'm sticking with you." 

"Me too!!" Hop jumped up, wrapping their small arms around Toriel's waist. "You're my mom, Mom!"

"Yeah," Laurel smiled. "I know my...my birth parents would have wanted someone as good as you taking care of me after they...Well, suffice it to say, I know they're smiling down on us right now. I'm staying with you, Toriel." 

Toriel reached out and pulled Laurel close to her, planting a kiss atop their blonde head as the tears started to spill from their eyes. 

"I couldn't ever leave you again!" Twain exclaimed, running up to Toriel and hugging her tightly. 

Everyone looked to Robin next. 

They stood a little aways, hands dropped to their sides as they looked to Toriel. The warm breeze tousled their hair and swept it along in smooth orange waves. Sunlight touched their face, making their freckles stand out bolder than they had in years. As they locked eyes with Toriel, Robin's face began to change. All of their stress and anxiety melted away for that moment, and they looked every bit as young as they should have. Tears began to course down their face as a smile spread on their lips. 

"Why are you all looking at me?" they asked, laughing as more tears spilled down their rosy cheeks. "Do I really have to say it!? Of course I'm staying with you, Mom!" 

Then, Robin ran up and joined the hug. Toriel's hand came around Robin instantly, stroking their long hair and pressing her face into Robin's freckled shoulder. With six human children snuggled up to her sides, Toriel was beginning to feel secure in her role as a mother again. But there was still one child left. 

Frisk stood in front of the rest of them, smiling at the happy scene before their eyes. As the mood settled, the kids all broke away from Toriel enough for her to get a clear path to Frisk. Slowly, Toriel walked to the youngest human and kneeled before them. 

"And what about you, my child?" Toriel asked. "You were the one to start this journey. Surely you must have somewhere new you wish to depart to?" 

Frisk looked around at all seven faces staring expectantly at them, Toriel and the other humans were all waiting patiently for Frisk's answer. Toriel was right, there were new places they wanted to explore; and, looking at how happy everyone was standing there together, Frisk didn't feel right asking the others to come with them on another journey. 

But then, there was a part of them that didn't want to go. Back when they had first fallen down, Frisk had wished they could just force themself to be happy right where they were so they could stay with the other humans and Toriel in the Ruins; but they had decided right then and there that they couldn't let other people's happiness become theirs as well. But looking at everyone at the end of it all, Frisk scolded themself for being so stupid. 

They had been so obsessed with moving forward because they thought it was the only way to get anywhere, but they were realizing now how much that thinking had actually been holding them back. Going through life without getting attached to anyone or anything was easier than letting yourself care about others and making homes out of impermanent variables, but it wasn't much of a life at all. 

Frisk had made their decision.

Or at least, they thought they had. 

Because there was still that distant nagging in their head, warning them not to let sentimentality hold them back. Chiding them for getting attached to these people, telling them that they had to cut their ties or have their heart be forever be bound to one group. Frisk heard all of these warnings swarming in their head, telling them how dangerous taking this next step would be. They knew there must be some truth to what their head kept telling them, why else would the warnings be there?

And yet...

Despite everything...

Frisk still didn't take warnings very seriously. 

 

**~[THE END](http://8tracks.com/glowingarrowsinthesky/last-goodbye)~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading this! I never thought it would get past a shoddy oneshot in my Google Docs abyss, and now here we are. If you've read this far, you've made me exquisitely happy!! Hope you enjoyed the fic!!!
> 
> P.S. Make sure you click the link in "THE END" !!!


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